


The Fire

by TrueBlueBetty



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, M/M, Pack Mom Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:42:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26445076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueBlueBetty/pseuds/TrueBlueBetty
Summary: “Do you think he’ll accept us?”“Who? The alpha’s mate?”“We can still call him Stiles,” Theo whispered, changing into the pajamas Derek had gifted him last Christmas, “I mean, he’s important you know, the bonds are already forming. Can’t you feel it?”The silence was easily filled with Stiles’ snores, Jackson took a minute to feel for the bond that’s already started to link the pack, now that they were together again.“Yeah, it feels like home,” his heart hurt at the realization, “but there’s a blockage too, I can’t tell what it is yet, but who knows what’ll happen,” Jackson’s face hardened a bit as he tried convincing his heart not to get its hopes up.“When are we expected to leave Talia’s pack?”“Whenever the bond is complete, so I’m thinking ten years,”
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 14
Kudos: 146





	1. Chapter 1

Stiles had only been in the house twice in his life, once when he had a playdate with a girl from his preschool, and twice when his family was invited to a party. Compared to the noises and foot traffic, the silence almost hurt. He expected the house to be empty, but once he walked through the front hallway, bodies were scattered everywhere. His dad had been called on an emergency forest fire and he was dragged along because he was too young to stay home alone. Since his mom died, his dad had turned into a helicopter parent; always trying to keep Stiles within arms reach. But his dad had been acting strange all that night, so he didn’t complain.

Their local preserve was being completely burned down. They’d already found gas tanks around the entrances, so arson was the obvious crime. For such a small county, they had plenty of resources, so fire trucks and helicopters were already working the scene. His dad yelled at him to stay by the car, his firefighter uniform made his body look larger even as he joined the crowd. Stiles just had his pajamas on with sneakers, he crossed his arms against his body tightly, the adrenaline in his body making it itching to move. So he walked out of the car to settle himself, the heat from the fire contrasted the cold air of the early morning. He stared at the dark house in confusion. No one was running out of the darkened house yet, Stiles believed it could be empty, but no one was bothering to check. When he saw a boy peak out the same window he was staring at Stiles didn’t even think, he ran straight for the door.

When he entered, the door slammed shut behind him and that’s when the silence took over. It was disorienting, not being able to hear the sirens and voices yelling outside. The fire hadn’t touched the back part of the house yet. Stiles walked around slowly, blood coated the carpets and large scratches were on the walls like a bear went crazy. Some of the bodies were gutted, lying dead on the ground, others looked like they were sleeping. Stiles touched the bloodless ones, slapping their faces and shaking their shoulders until the body started groaning.

“Dude! Your house is on fire, you need to get up!” The man roared as he sat straight up. Stiles ignored the fangs and glowing yellow eyes. “How many others are there?” he continued.

“Thirty,” Stiles looked to his side as a woman started to get up, growling as she did so.

“How many bedrooms?”

“Ten,”

“Get out, I’ll get them up” he ran before they could argue, running to the untouched staircase. “Wake up! You guys need to get out of here!” he opened doors, shook strangers out of their deeply heavy sleep. Stiles couldn’t help but think magic was involved, but who would want to harm this family? Eventually, he was drawn to a bedroom in the corner, voices behind him fading as he ran closer.

“Hey come on! Get out of there already!” the door swung open, as his hand came down again, slapping the person at the door.

“Fuck,”

“Get your butt out of here already!” not bothering to apologize in the situation.

“I can’t,” the boy snarled, he had similar fangs to the man downstairs with matching yellow eyes.

“We have to get out of here!”

“I’m stuck!”

“How?”

“See this, it’s mountain ash, you need to break the circle outside of everyone’s rooms. Only a human can do it. I’ve been trying to break it but I’m not strong enough. There’s not enough time anymore so just get out and save yourself ” The boy, though physically taller than Stiles, looked small at that moment. Stiles started to hear the sirens clearer now, the smell of rotting wood and smoked filled the air.

“Okay please shut up and let me save your life!” he leaned down to break the circle before running to the next rooms to do the same. “I’ll break the circles, you get them up,” he kept running until the smoke in his lungs burned. The building was getting hotter by the minute, yet no one else seemed to run into the house to help. He circled back to the front door, the group of thirty or so people standing in front,

“Open the door already!” the girl from his playdate reached out quickly, pushing the door open, but she couldn’t go past the threshold. Stiles looked down quickly, he ran, sliding his hand along the floor before diving for the front lawn. The group followed, the boy from before coming up beside him. “You did it,” his voice coated in awe. Stiles inspected his face for a minute, the eyes were still yellow but did he imagine the mutton chops and fangs?

“I like your eyes,” he murmured, before collapsing in the stranger’s arms.


	2. Chapter 2

(Seven Years Later)

His heart sank once the train’s horn blew and his eyes hurt from the unshed tears.

“So long Scotty,” he turned to his best friend who didn’t hold back his sniffling. Always the puppy.

“I swear to god if we’re not talking at least twice a day, I’m hunting your ass down,” they hugged tightly.

“If I don’t write, assume I’ve been killed,” he smiled, “because believe me, I won’t be lucky enough to die of natural causes” he joked. Scott finally let out a smile, returning to Noah’s side. Stiles stared at his little family for a moment, reality finally setting in. “Yeah, I’m not going,” Stiles stated, looking at his dad.

“I’m not going to beg you,” his dad smiled.

“Okay good I’m impervious to your influence anyway” he shouldered his bag, about to head back out the way they came in.

“Would you consider a bribe?”

“Couldn’t meet my price.”

“Extortion?”

“Got nothing on me,”

“Yeah... ” his dad continued to smile, pushing Stiles to the train doors.

“Dad, what are you doing? Ow, dad.”

“See you in the summer!” Stiles stumbled a bit, entering the train aisle when he got his footing, and he looked around. His steps seemed to echo as he walked further down the train. Everyone was running into compartments with friends, laughing, and having the time of their lives. He must have reeked of anxiety because a girl to his left called out to him.

“Hey, you got a spot yet?” he shook his head, “come join my family! My name’s Cora! What’s yours?” her excitement was contagious as he sat down next to her, closing the compartment door behind him. They got lucky, it was huge. Stiles looked around and saw ten people could easily fit in the booths and tables, there was even some room to walk about if they wanted to. He sat down next to Cora, eyeing everyone in the compartment.

“Stiles. Stiles Stilinski” two other girls were sitting beside or across from three boys. One was as scrawny as Stiles, one had his face glued to the book in his hand, and the other was looking at Stiles intently.

“From Beacon Hills yeah?”

“Yeah, do I know you?” he couldn’t hear any form of an English accent, he looked around again, trying to match their faces, the boy was still staring at him and their eyes met, Stiles instinctively lowered his gaze, but a small part of his mind was telling him to bare his throat, which made zero sense.

“That’s Malia, Erica, Isaac, Boyd, and Derek. We’re the Hale family” he felt his head tilt at the introductions. He vaguely remembered the names but nothing was coming to mind.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember?” he mumbled embarrassingly. Cora looked worried for a minute.

“We lived in Beacon Hills, on the Hale preserve before our house burned down,” her smile dropped a bit, “you were there?”

“I remember the fire, but I was stuck at home that whole night. I think you have me confused for someone else?” she shook her head slowly, confused.

“You don’t remember?” she searched Stiles’s face before her expression neutralized. “I guess you were still pretty young huh? Our Mom had us move in with family in London. Considering we lost all of our stuff during the fire, she figured it was the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.” Stiles remembered parts of that night, but it was always fuzzy and mostly faces. It was as if he had tunnel vision. He could recall his dad yelling at him to stay by the house, watching him run out with his firefighter gear. Stiles had stood on the edge of his lawn, watching the ash and smoke fill the air before running back inside when the heavy wind made a tree crash down across the street. He tried to calm down his adrenaline rush so he started pacing until he passed out. He ended up dreaming of a beautiful yellow-eyed boy. When he woke up, his father was sitting beside the couch. Stiles hugged him and began crying, not only for his dad’s safe return, but he felt like something was stolen from him when he woke up. Once they had calmed down a bit, Stiles noticed Talia Hale was there. She excused herself but his dad ran out after her, they talked quickly and aggressively outside. His dad kept shouting at her, yelling ‘no,’ Stiles had never seen him so distraught. He assumed some people were lost, but his thoughts were occupied by a certain yellow-eyed boy from his dream. Talia eventually calmed his father down and went on her way. He shook himself out of the hazy memory that never felt like his, looking around the compartment, eyes settling on Derek again.

“How are you guys doing then?” he asked Derek, he saw his hands shake a bit, they were balled in fists held tightly against his knees, and if Stiles had looked closer he would have seen lines of blood falling from them.

“We’ve been okay,” he stammered.

“That’s good…” it was silent for a beat while Derek was thinking, his head tilting to the side for a moment,

“What do you remember from that night?” he asked slowly, Stiles shrugged.

“Me staying home alone, my dad going to help the other officers, and your mom coming by probably to thank my dad or something,” he tried summarizing. 

“Nothing else?” Derek prodded, his eyes were filled with worry.

“No, I was asleep.” he paused, unable to stop his next words from spilling out, “but I did have this weird dream about a yellow-eyed boy. God, it felt so real. I remember feeling worried, scared even, and… fangs… doors couldn’t open?” Stiles felt his face redden in embarrassment. “Sorry, that makes no sense at all, my dad always said I had an active imagination when I was younger.” Stiles missed the glint of hope that sparked in everyone’s eyes as he ducked his head, Derek was even close to tears at his words. He did feel the shift in the air though, it was lighter with each passing minute.

“So transfer obviously?” Boyd asked after the silence had stretched a bit too long. He nodded, looking over to the boy with the book. His face and build seemed intimidating but his eyes were so soft. Erica, his girlfriend, he figured, was spooning him from behind. She was leaning against the window, bringing him down with her, her cheek rested on his head as she stared at Stiles.

“So what year are you Bambie?” she asked, her voice unintentionally sultry. Derek tensed harder where he was sitting, again completely unnoticed by Stiles.

“Fifth”

“Cool Derek and Boyd, are in sixth. The rest of us are in fifth.”

“Yeah, we can help you out around the school. I heard most of the fifth and sixth-year Ilvermorny students had to be transferred to Hogwarts. Do you know why?” Isaac picked up. He was sitting across from Stiles on the other side of the compartment doors.

“Overcrowded, there was a huge incoming class of first years so they booted the ones who hadn’t taken their O.W.L.s. yet.”

“Doesn’t that just mean you’ll have to learn all new information? I wouldn’t think our units cover the same stuff?”

“Well, it’s all basically the same. I took a look at your guys’ future coursework material and it’s all the standard information” he shrugged. Isaac, Boyd, and Derek all look surprised, Derek even looked a bit impressed.

“The wizarding world is only so big. Plus there’s only a finite amount of ways to describe magical creatures before they all start overlapping, and I mean I love research so spending my spare time looking up random ass information was a great way to keep things fresh in my mind. Have you seen some of the stuff in your restricted area of the library cause ours was pretty fucking cool.” Stiles continued, blabbing about how wrong he believed most of the werewolf information was, granted he couldn’t prove his theories. Either way, he still held out hope that werewolves were better than they’re portrayed as, and in extension most magical creatures. He stopped when he realized how long he’d been droning on and slowly started to unwind his word vomit. “But you know werewolves could also totally be ravaging monsters and I wouldn’t know until I met one and statistically died.” There were several beats of silence as he waited for the family to just kick him out of their compartment.

“This is going to be interesting,” Cora said breaking the silence, he shared a small smile at her confused face.

“I think so too” Derek agreed from his corner of the room. Stiles settled in for the long train ride, answering and asking questions with the Hale family. He felt better about his future at Hogwarts than he had that morning. Though Derek’s face looked strained for the entire ride, Stiles got him to crack out a laugh now and again, granted that didn’t seem to relax Derek since he always looked tenser than before. He had so much to write about to Scott, he thought to himself, laughing along with Cora’s family stories.


	3. Chapter 3

“Slytherin!” the sorting hat shouted, booming in the silence of the hall. He slowly walked toward the cheering crowd, joining the smaller first years that had been sorted. The sorting at Hogwarts was a bit of a let down compared to Ilvermorny. When he had been sorted all the enchanted carvings had reacted. The Thunderbird carving had raised its wings as if to take flight, while the Horned Serpent’s crystal on his forehead lit up. Then the Wampus had roared louder than it had for any other student, causing some of the people in the hall to flinch. Lastly, the Pukwudgie had raised its arrow into the air as if to release it, it was still the coolest thing Stiles had experienced. So ultimately, wearing an enchanted (probably lice-ridden if not for magic) hat on a stool in the middle of the dining hall wasn’t exactly the pristine sorting that he’d been used to. He had chosen Thunderbird in the end, so he guessed it made sense to be in Slytherin. Couldn’t argue that he was ambitious and resourceful. When he sat he looked for the Hale family immediately, Derek was sitting in the Gryffindor section talking beside an older girl. He was throwing his head back in laughter as she giggled, gracefully covering her mouth to hide her teeth. Stiles felt a surge of possessiveness as he watched the scene that surprised him. He barely knew the guy, he didn’t exactly have any claim on him? He didn’t even know if Derek liked guys and this girl could be his girlfriend. He turned his head away, eyes stumbling on Isaac and Malia as they were cheering to greet their new Hufflepuff to the table, Malia being especially loud, while Cora and Boyd were quietly talking with each other sitting along the same bench as the two. Stiles noticed Lydia Martin join the Ravenclaw group, he hadn’t even seen her on the train. She had attended Ilvermorny with him so at least he had one more friendly face. Stiles tried to keep his eyes from circling back to Derek, but he couldn’t help himself. Yes, the guy looked like an actual Greek god at seventeen but finding him attractive didn’t explain his ache to touch him, to be around him, to make Derek’s smile only his. 

“Cool it with the desperation Stiles,” he whispered to himself embarrassingly, taking a much-needed breath. Let’s at least get a conversation out of the boy before full obsession happens. He tried to make nice with the people in his vicinity, so he forced his eyes away from Derek’s joyful face, looking to his right.

“Hey, I’m Stiles,”

“Hey. I heard you on the train,” Stiles tilted his head a bit at the phrasing, “Sorry, I meant I heard you were on the train,” the guy clarified, “I’m Theo, that's Jackson,” he tilted his head to the guy on Stiles’ left, “we’re friends of the Hale family,” he smiled. Stiles could feel the groan at the back of his throat. How damn big was this family? 

“Cool, yeah, I met Derek, Malia, Cora, Boyd, Erica, and Isaac,” he gasped out, slightly losing breath as the others nodded, 

“Hopefully they didn’t give you too hard of a time. You don’t remember them do you?”

“No, sorry. I still think they have me confused for someone else though,” he shrugged. 

“You might remember my boyfriend, Liam, actually, he’s over in Hufflepuff. He grew up in Beacon Hills and attended Ilvermorny for a bit. He attended the school early since he had this accident, but he got transferred out to me,” Theo winked at a boy with long disheveled hair. He was already staring at the small group, slyly giving the finger to his boyfriend. 

“Liam Dunbar?” Theo nodded, Stiles remembered that incident. It happened the year before he left for school. Stiles could tell Liam was losing control of his magic mixed in with his anger management issues. But considering they were still too young to attend a wizarding school, he had to learn to restrain himself. One of those earlier years, he’d been benched while playing lacrosse for not managing his anger. That night the coach’s car was destroyed with the words _this is your fault_ carved on the sides. He was immediately sent to Ilvermorny for evaluations. Stiles heard he had been transferred out, he didn’t know it was Hogwarts that took him in though. Stiles talked with Theo and Jackson for the rest of the dinner, telling them about Ilvermorny while they talked about Hogwarts. All in all, the day could have been worse for Stiles. Dinner passed quickly with minimal peaks toward Derek, and soon they were being shown their rooms.

***

“Guess we’re bunkmates!” cried out Erica. She landed on Jackson’s bed, rubbing her body all over the duvet.

“Get the fuck out of here, it is unfair that you can just waltz into our rooms but magic prevents us from entering yours” Jackson complained. 

“And why would you need to be entering the girl’s rooms? It’s not like the female anatomy ever appealed to you” Jackson’s eyes widened at the comment, staring at Erica’s sneer.

“It’s just your anatomy that doesn’t appeal to me, and for the record, I’m everybody’s type, who wouldn’t want me to enter their rooms.” she rolled her eyes.

“Oh please! You wanted a bite from this cat since the day we met. Or does the excuse of ‘I just wanted to try out your new nail polish’ not sound familiar, perv.”

“Jackson you’re such an idiot. I still can’t believe you tried that move,” Theo laughed. 

“Anyway, there was a point to me coming over,” Erica chimed, “the boss man says pack meeting tonight. Shrieking Shack. 10 o’clock.”

“We’re there.” Jackson and Theo said seriously. She nodded in confirmation, leaving as quickly as she came. 

“Pack meeting?” Stiles couldn’t help but ask. Who called each other a pack? Oh no, they’re furries, aren’t they? I mean it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, it's a different image of the group but he could get passed it.

“It’s an inside joke, we just like to catch up with each other and discuss the year.”

“So like a pre-study party?”

“Yeah kind of. We’ll be back late tonight, so don’t wait up.” Stiles nodded, getting comfortable on his bed. Maybe not furries then? He couldn’t help but feel excluded though, sure he wasn’t part of the group, that didn’t mean he didn’t like to at least get invited to said pre-study party. Who asks people to hang out in front of the people not invited? Fuck it, he had a cloaking spell, he was going to that party. 


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Theo and Jackson left, Stiles only gave it a few minutes before following. When they made it to the Shrieking Shack, it was only a bit past ten in the evening. Stiles wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to stay awake though, considering he’d been up late for the last week stressing about the new school, new country situation. Yet, he willed his body to keep moving. He was so close to seeing Derek again, being nearer to him and he had some questions to ask. Yeah, there was the slight issue of stalking present, but screw it if it means he could get some answers! Mostly regarding his desire to be around him, it felt familiar yet a little foreign. All he knew was that he needed to be closer to the boy and he didn’t know why.

The noise was easy to pick up on once they exited through the hidden tunnel they went through, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust from the darkness to a full room set up like a Pinterest ad. There were two couches pushed to the back corners of the room, twinkling lights strung up along all four walls, as well as small glassed candles mantled along the windows. Hoards of pillows were scattered along the floor. It was a dream of Stiles to own at least thirty pillows, and here they were. Pizza boxes were thrown about, following random bags of chips and sodas. He looked around the crowded room, he expected to be boiling in body heat, but the air was circulating nicely somehow. He didn’t feel too overwhelmed in the space either. Cora had found the last two boys immediately, pulling them into a hug. 

“Hey, guys, missed you on the train,” she said softly.

“Yeah, our noses needed a break from Derek’s stench” they stepped back a bit to look at Derek’s figure “he looks so much worse than before.” Jackson nodded along.

“Honestly, I’m surprised he held up for this long. He hasn’t seen the kid in what ten years?”

“Seven years, three months, and two days.” Derek gruffed from his corner. Everyone in the room looked surprised. 

“And of course he kept count,” groaned out Cora. Stiles walked around the small group at the door trying to get a better look at Derek. Theo’s comment was the understatement of the year. Derek looked completely wrought out. Stiles thanked every god at that moment that he finally perfected his version of a cloaking spell. One spell to do the same work of Hermione Granger’s protective enchantments directly on the person. 

“So what’s the meeting for ‘cause I’m not spending the rest of the night staring at your sour ass,” Malia complained. 

“It’s hard to be around him,” Derek snarled, he had partially wolfed out, fangs and mutton chops galore. Stiles felt a headache form at the sight, his stomach turning uneasily. What was he? “I need you guys to protect him when I’m not around. Because if I have to spend another nine hours sitting within three feet of the kid, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Why doesn’t he remember saving you guys though?” Isaac asked from beside Stiles, he tried to move around Isaac without tripping over his own feet to do it.

“I think mom did something, remember Stiles said she went to go talk to him. Why else would she stop by to talk to the sheriff afterward?” 

“To thank them?”

“Besides that. Because all I want to know is how can someone save an entire family from a burning house, thank you, Kate!” Cora yelled to the sky sarcastically, “and not remember anything?” They were all silent for a few beats, Stiles felt his head tilting, trying to remember that night. It was still the same blurry memory that he kept prodding in his mind until he felt shooting pains in his head. It felt like a chunk of his memory was changed and he was starting to be less convinced he was home? But if he did save them, what happened to him? Stiles watched as the girl from dinner walked to sit behind Derek, trying to soothe him by rubbing circles on his back. 

“How’d you manage controlling yourself before he saved you guys?” she asked, softly in the room, her hair looked damp, the light accented her brown wavy hair. His eyes turned to Derek again, he’d been slightly avoiding looking at him. His mind was still trying to process the sight. He looked like a dog, the only explanation would be being a werewolf. Sure, he believed in their innocence but that didn’t mean he liked being around strange magical creatures. Plus how embarrassing would that be to gush about werewolves, in front of the same creature? 

“The wolf hadn’t noticed him yet,” Stiles slapped his forehead mumbling curses to himself, “we all went to school together, but they were never more than classmates. I don’t think Stiles even considered Derek a friend honestly,”

“Thank’s Cora,”

“You know what I mean idiot. The guy’s friendly, even when he was a kid. Once he showed the wolf that he could protect Derek’s pack and risk his own life to do so all while being human, there was never letting go. Leaving the day after the fire was a cakewalk compared to his puberty run,” Cora scoffed, “there was a fight with his wolf but we did it. We got to New York and traveled between London and there. After he hit puberty the wolf needed his anchor though. When the full moon happens again, we don’t think Derek will be able to control himself, I don’t at least. There was an incident already. Someone got hurt.”

“I killed an innocent person.” Derek cut in, glowing blue eyes bleeding into the green. Stiles felt the gasp more than heard it, feeling his concentration waver on the charms he used on himself. Cora was brushing the sides of her arms together when she snarled at the sound.

“Someone’s here!” Everyone got in a defense position, Stiles realizing his theory on the dangers of werewolves was about to be tested, ran out the door as fast as he could. He didn’t stop until he was safely in his bed, his heartbeat going a mile a minute. He tried to slow it down, but processing the information he just saw and heard was causing it to maintain its speed. One, Derek’s a werewolf. How did he forget that little tidbit of information from before? The pain in his head got worse as he tried to piece the night of the fire together. He and his dad ate dinner, his dad got called to the fire, and everything started getting muddled, he remembers his dad saying to stay home, don’t leave, the whole child-home-alone lecture and he left. Then nothing but the dream; he woke up from the couch to his dad and Talia Hale... Wait! The dream! He had a dream of yellow eyes. Yellow eyes that glowed exactly like Derek’s blue eyes. His head shot out more daggers of pain as he tried to recall more information, but the pain was too much so he left it for now. Two, Derek needed something called an anchor? In all his limited research about werewolves, he hadn’t read anything about an anchor? Three, Derek confessed to killing a person. Stiles felt his mind and heart screaming at him to go back to Derek. To soothe his pain despite hearing the words  _ killed _ come out of his mouth. Every fiber of his being didn’t believe those words and he wanted to slap Derek for speaking that lie. This was also a confusing emotion for him, he’d felt the ache to soothe Derek on the train too, just a little ping that he didn’t think of. Now, it was like his whole body decided to join the pain in his head.

“Okay breathe Stiles, come on. You can’t do any research yet so might as well suck it up for now,” he leveled his breathing and was able to calm down enough to let the image of green eyes capture his attention. He thought a bit harder, recalling the yellow. Stiles smiled a bit, still feeling hopelessly confused, but if he could have those eyes in his life, he knew he’d be happy. Seeing Derek with fangs and ‘beta-shifted’ looked almost familiar like Stiles was remembering a dream of a dream. He was asleep long before Theo and Jackson walked through the doors, his smile lightly formed on his lips. 

“We’re good here, he’s asleep,” Theo called down to Erica. 

“Come on, we got class in the morning.” Jackson’s bed creaked on the other side of the room. It was silent for a long moment as the boys began changing.

“Do you think he’ll accept us?”

“Who? The alpha’s mate?”

“We can still call him Stiles,” Theo whispered, changing into the pajamas Derek had gifted him last Christmas, “I mean, he’s important you know, the bonds are already forming. Can’t you feel it?” 

The silence was easily filled with Stiles’ snores, Jackson took a minute to feel for the bond that’s already started to link the pack, now that they were together again.

“Yeah, it feels like home,” his heart hurt at the realization, “but there’s a blockage too, I can’t tell what it is yet, but who knows what’ll happen,” Jackson’s face hardened a bit as he tried convincing his heart not to get its hopes up. 

“When are we expected to leave Talia’s pack?”

“Whenever the bond is complete, so I’m thinking ten years,” Theo snorted, he always got along with Jackson. They were both the caring asshole friend types. He knew exactly what the other meant because he’d used the same lines before, “I know you're a bit slow on the uptake, but even you would have to be blind not to notice the way they look at each other. Even though they just met again. It’s the same way you look at Liam,” he felt his blush at the comment. 

“You could have that too, just have to ask the guy or girl out. You’ve got options, my friend.”

“I think I’m leaning more toward Ethan actually.”

“Whoa, Ethan huh, I approve,” they chuckled as they continued to talk into the night, eventually, their snores joining Stiles’.


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey, Stiles first day of classes here! Up and at ‘em.” 

“Just give me two more minutes,”

“Nope, move!” The boys paused listening to Stiles’ grumbling before nodding to each other and grabbing each end of his blankets, tossing the lanky boy onto the floor. 

“You guys suck.” Stiles got up, changing slowly while yawning, but the promise of food helped him quicken his pace. “Okay, let’s go!” he ran out before the wolves, crashing right into Erica. “Ahh fuck, that’s a broken nose,” he said around the blood. 

“Derek is going to kill me,” she whispered, kneeling to help him up. 

“Let’s go see Madam Pomfrey” Theo conjured a napkin from someplace and pressed it against his nose, “don’t tilt back, that just makes the blood rush down your throat and then you vomit, tilt down,”

“You should be a healer Theo,” joked Jackson from behind them.

“Hey, Liam has gotten in enough fights for me to know at least the basic stuff,” Stiles frowned to himself, Liam had plenty of issues when they were younger, he had hoped he was at least a little more self-controlled. They walked all the way to the hospital wing, passing a few onlookers who Erica and Jackson glared at until everyone avoided their gaze. 

"Thanks," Stiles whispered, switching the napkins as they all preened at the gratitude. He was reminded of Scott for a moment, seeing their faces split into private smiles. They're glares increased tenfold, barking for others to move out of their way. He could feel the pride of the pack radiate at being able to take care of him. even if they were the ones that injured him.

“Madam Pomfrey!” Erica called out, once they were through the double doors. 

“Oh, Theo my sweet boy, what have we got this time?”

“Broken nose and some front teeth,” Stiles spit out his two front teeth onto his palm, handing them over to Madam Pomfrey. 

“Well let’s get right on that shall we, come along, dear” Stiles followed, sitting on one of the many beds in the infirmary.

“Sweet boy?” Erica teased.

“Theo, is there something you haven’t been telling us, dear?” Jackson mimicked Madam Pomfrey’s accent, all three tailing behind Stiles.

“Okay, so I might not have learned all my healing practices by myself. Liam gets injured so damn often we usually end up here. Why not learn from the best?” 

“Oh, Theo, those compliments will get you nowhere in my lessons. And one more thing sweetie.”

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey,”

“Watch that language, or I’m kicking you out of here again!” 

“Yes, Madam Pomfrey,” Theo repeated, cheeks tinted with red. Jackson and Erica were at least trying to hold in their giggling until both froze in their laughter.

“Oh, shit,”

“We are so fucked.”

“Excuse me, language!”

“Sorry, Madam Pomfrey,” they both said as the double doors burst open, flinching slightly. Derek strode in, robes blowing behind him.

“Sorry for the intrusion Madam, I heard my friend was in the infirmary and I needed to make sure they were okay,” his voice sounded sweet, but there was an edge to it that Stiles felt wary of. 

“Well, I’ll just have to do a quick spell for his teeth, as for his nose, that’ll need some mending. But I can get that done in a heartbeat, _Episkey,_ ” she murmured, Stiles’ nose felt burning hot, then cold. He raised his hand gingerly touching his nose around the dry blood.

“Dang Pomfrey, you know how to get it done,” 

“Now let me pop these suckers back in,” Stiles let Madam Pomfrey poke and prod around his mouth, fitting his teeth back in. He missed the spell she used, too busy staring at Derek in confusion. He thought he couldn’t handle being around him? Did he come because Stiles had been hurt? How did he even find out? It happened less than five minutes ago!

“All done dear, I hope not to see you anytime soon. Get down to breakfast now before morning announcements commence.”

“Thank you,” they all said, Erica, Jackson, and Liam, letting the other two pass in front of them. Stiles walked by a bathroom, heading in to wash his face. Dried blood did not feel great on his skin. 

“So what happened?” Stiles peered over his eyelashes, seeing Derek lean on the doorframe through the mirror.

“I ran into Erica,” he shrugged, “that woman is built like a rock.” Derek looked like he was in more pain than Stiles. 

“How’d you find out so quickly?” he turned to face him. Derek fidgeted for a second before cooling his expression,

“I just knew something was wrong, Gryffindors and Slytherins have Potions together so they’re houses are usually at breakfast first. When you and the others didn’t show up I figured something must have been up.”

“Yeah well, I tried to sleep in but Theo and Jackson forced me up. I would have missed breakfast if I could,” he teased. Stiles continued washing his face, moving a few locks of wet hair out of the way. The silence in the bathroom made his leg start bouncing, finally, he was clean again and dried his hands with paper towels.

"Erica screaming in the hallways helped a bit though," Stiles snorted at the comment, it must have looked hilarious seeing a group of teenagers running across the hallways while practically carrying an injured one, growling at anyone who even looked at him.

“So food?” Derek nodded, hand reaching out to open the door. He stopped midway, facing Stiles again.

“Wha--” Stiles’s words died on his lips before the question was fully formed. Derek had placed his outstretched hand on Stiles’s cheek, eyes roaming his face. They were silent except for Stiles’ rapidly beating heart, while Derek’s eyes did their assessment, probably for any other injury. He couldn’t help but close his eyes as Derek’s rough hands smoothed over his face. Once satisfied he had no other injuries, he hummed and opened the door for him. Stiles’ legs felt like jelly at the sound, and he watched the restraint on Derek’s face when he stepped away. It probably mirrored Stiles’ reflection, but the others were still waiting at the end of the hall, so he forced himself to move on. 

“Hey, good as new!” Jackson fist-bumped him and Stiles couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Yup, I really have to watch where I’m going,” he let out nervously. 

“I’m sorry, it was totally my fault, I didn’t even think to move out of the way. I’m sorry.” Derek gave Erica a look of warning while Stiles’ head was turned, missing her flinch. 

“No, it’s all good, besides we have magic. It’s not like I was forced to get a nose job in Beacon Hills,” the others snickered a bit, the tension in the air still prominent. Stiles noticed he and Derek were leading the group to the Great Hall, so he slowed his pace down a bit. The others slowed naturally as they continued their side conversations. Stiles felt his head tilt a little mischievously. He started to go down the staircase in a slow zig-zag, again the others following along unnoticing. 

“Let’s hurry before Harris gives us detention,” Stiles waved his friends along, quickening his pace again after his little experiment. 

“Ooh, you catch on quick. It would be Harris that beats our ass,” Erica laughed, following directly behind Stiles until they got to their table. Headmaster Martin, Lydia’s mom actually, commenced the announcements; discussing the restriction of the Forbidden Forest, the upcoming quidditch schedule, and what day Hogsmeade would be officially open to students. Stiles felt Derek’s eyes on him, boring holes into his forehead. Stiles tried to ignore him as best he could but he also wanted to stare back. He felt his skin crawl a bit at the desire to comfort Derek’s worry, and reassure him that he was okay. The moment in the bathroom did nothing to help his ache. It felt amazing having that tiny bit of skin contact and helped the pain in his heart calm down, except now that he knows how Derek’s hands feel he needed more. The ache only got worse as he steeled himself away from Derek for the day, knowing he needed to research more about werewolves than he had before, to get answers first, then give in to his desires if he could.


	6. Chapter 6

Yet soon, one day turned into one week, and then it was one month since his accident with Erica. He had plans to further his research about werewolves in the library that night but the rest of the Hale group kept him busy with different activities. They had all gotten closer to each other with the slight exception of Derek. Sure Derek came along for walks around the castle, study sessions in the greenhouse, and cooking with the elves in the kitchen; but he mostly watched and kept himself busy by reading books. Stiles included him for the most part, even when he was exceptionally grumpy. He would walk with him, sit by him, his actions were starting to remind him of a lost puppy honestly. What can he say though? He felt safe and warm when he was around Derek. Protected for lack of a better word. For one, Derek was always considerate to his pack. Isaac especially. Any homework trouble, nightmares, or bullies, Derek was there for them. It was downright touching to see such a close family. Stiles knew he needed to research more about werewolves quickly because his desire to kiss every inch of Derek’s face after he dealt with his ‘pups’ were starting to rise. Stiles had taken to using werewolf lingo when referring to the pack, it helped him come to terms with what they were and it was downright adorable seeing them act like puppies sometimes.

Derek had only once walked away from Stiles and the group and it still hurt him to think about. They had all been relaxing in the Gryffindor common rooms with the fire blazing when Stiles ended up sleeping on Derek’s lap. They had spent the whole day together, Stiles and Derek leading the pack through quidditch games, a quick study session, and after dinner, they ended the night with some muggle games like Pictionary. After some failed attempts at identifying movie titles, books, and songs, they all settled down on some cushions. Stiles had been watching his friends read and crack jokes with each other and he couldn’t help but feel all gooey inside. He was curled on one couch cushion leaning on his hand listening to their laughter when he watched Ethan and Jackson fall asleep on each other, and he followed suit. His arm giving out eventually and his head landing on Derek’s leg. He could barely register the content feeling in his heart when Derek stormed off, mumbling a ‘goodnight’ to everyone, making his forehead hit the floor hard. 

Since then, Stiles hadn’t been able to talk to Derek without him getting angry and storming off in the middle of their conversations. So Stiles stopped talking. He knew when someone didn’t want his company, so he didn’t force it. Despite what the ache in his heart told him, Derek was clearly changing his mind about him. So instead he kept himself busy with the rest of the pack. He relied heavily on past research on how to act in a pack, and the others haven’t attacked him yet so he figured the information he got was accurate. It helped that he genuinely cared about them. He never did have siblings, if you didn’t count Scott, so living with the family made him feel useful and happy. He even got Malia to warm up to him; they now walked from their common rooms to breakfast and met between classes to walk to Muggle Studies together. And even though he wasn’t talking to Derek, that didn’t mean he was going to say no to the daily eye candy that greeted him through the windows on their walk. He was the quidditch captain for Gryffindor so Stiles always looked forward to seeing a glimpse of him practicing through the windows as they passed by. He was excited to cheer on the mass of muscle this season. He had been talking to Malia about buying some products from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes once Hogsmeade opened for celebrating their quidditch wins. Malia figured the best way would be sparklers and fireworks, he wanted to go for sound-producing sweets. Mostly to see if a real werewolf roar would come out instead. He was curious about what theirs sounded like okay! Sure he was kind of freaked out about the prospect of being with a werewolf, but he knew in his heart he was safe with the Hale family, even if he didn’t understand why.

“Hey, are we still on for tonight?” Lydia popped up, cutting their conversation off. They had a few classes together and they grew closer as friends than they had at Ilvermorny.

“Yup! Is 6 still okay? I wanted to rest for a bit before dinner then get to the library.”

“Yeah that’s fine, it does close at 8 but you might be able to convince Madam Pince to let us stay longer” she let out a pleading smile. 

“You know I’ve got this” 

“Perfect, I’ll see you later then, bye Malia!” Lydia turned the corner and left again, disappearing as quickly as she came. He looked over at Malia and the same sour expression that Derek usually had on coated her face for a second. He tilted his head a bit in confusion, did she not like Lydia?

“So fireworks,” she bounces back, facial expression neutral again.

“Fireworks” Stiles nodded, he was probably imagining things. Hogsmeade was set to open the Halloween weekend, which was also the weekend before the Quidditch season started. It would give them plenty of time to stock up and start decorating flags and such for their little fan club. 

Once they arrived at their class, they met up with Boyd, Cora, Malia, and Isaac, sitting beside the group. 

“Did you do the homework?”

“There was homework?”

“Gah! You idiot!” Stiles smiled while watching Isaac and Malia quickly work out their essay on the function of a rubber duck. He rolled his eyes fondly at the scene, Cora meeting his gaze.

“So how are your other classes going?” she leaned back, talking around the two busybodies. 

“They’re good. I’m already working on vanishing spells in Transfiguration so McGonagall thinks I should look into a career with this branch of the Ministry. If I choose to stick around overseas that is.”

“Wow! You must have been some wizard back at Ilvermorny!” 

“I don’t know about that, but magic has come pretty easily to me. My mom used to tell my dad I’d be destined for greatness. Maybe this is what she was talking about?” he shrugged, he felt a bit of sadness taint his good mood. Cora must have picked up on it since she was apologizing next. 

“I’m sure it’s been hard growing up without her. When did she die?”

“When I was four. I barely remember her, but that’s mostly a blessing and a curse.” Cora nodded along, they both had lost people when they were young. Cora was a bit older than Stiles, but a lost soul nonetheless. 

“How are your classes going?”

“Well… Professor Longbottom basically told me I should stick to the muggle world if I want a stable career so that’s how my life is going.” They shared a giggle before Professor Burbage called their attention. 

Once class was over, the forty-five minutes passed quickly, they all exited the class, heading for their common rooms or to the dining hall to wait for dinner. 

“Hey we’re going to Hogsmeade at the end of the month, you guys in?” Malia cut in between Stiles and Boyd’s conversation on best Halloween movies. 

“Yeah!” they all agreed.

“God, I miss butterbeer,” Isaac said softly. 

“Firewhiskey all the way dude.” Malia scoffed.

“We can leave after breakfast then,” Stiles planned. Everyone was stopped at the entrance, branching off slowly to their next locations. 

“Cool, I’ll let the rest of the group know.”

“Wait, what?” Stiles felt his eyebrows raise at the comment. His mind started racing a bit at the prospect of buying Derek fan gear in front of Derek. He couldn’t do that! Sure he would see him eventually but that was when he would be distracted at winning and not getting bludgeoned to death! Because of course, Derek Hale was also the seeker.

“Yeah. We’ll make it a whole group thing. You’re okay with that right?”

“Of course, yeah! I got to go shower real quick before dinner, so I’ll head out first. See you guys later,” he raised his hand in an awkward wave, turning around to run to his dorm, missing the pack’s comments.

“I still don’t see how that’s Derek’s mate,” Malia grumbled.

“How?” Cora gasped, “stick in the mud, always grouchy Derek, and that ray of sunshine? They’re perfect!”

“Stiles also talks enough for both of them, it’s amazing,” Erica exclaimed.

“I don’t know how to describe it, he just fits,” Boyd said quietly, Isaac nodding along. 

“Yeah, come on, we got to get to class,” 

***

By the time Stiles made it to the library, it was only fifteen minutes past five. He figured a good forty-five minutes of research would help appease himself a bit. He needed answers dammit! He went to sweet talk Madam Pince into letting him into the restricted section of the library, then he was grabbing all the werewolf related books he could find. There was a table toward the back that he brought all his findings to and set to work. 

“Anchors; a werewolf’s anchor is a being which they can concentrate on to keep themselves human. That’s not too bad, not what I was expecting, but not too bad.” he continued, reviewing definitions for werewolf terms like scent marking and chemosignals. He’d done werewolf research once when he was younger, and a bit more when it was a topic assigned in class, but he never needed to read deeper into the lore until now, and he was incredibly fascinated. Once he got past the offending language regarding werewolves, he discovered anchors can become mates - which was pretty self-explanatory- and in extension, true mates. Which are rarely found, one person made specifically for the other, Stiles could only think of soulmates. If a pair of true mates complete their bond, they would become royalty, but only in the supernatural world, obviously. Currently, there are three pairs of true mates globally. One already registered as being Talia and Michael Hale. 

“Holy shit,  _ ‘during their courtship while brief, sparked controversy throughout the pack lands. They were married and pregnant within three full moons. No born pureblood werewolves have been recorded to marry a muggle-born before this event. Royals, Emma and Peter Hale were questioned on the relationship, as well as other family members on the validity of Michael Hale’s claim mark. _ ” Stiles paused, looking through other books trying to find definitions for claim marks, and some history on the royals, he paused when he came across a line, “ _ A claim bite is given to their betrothed on the night they are married. When a muggle is claimed the bond is complete, and the muggle will be granted a portion of the werewolf’s abilities; i.e smell, sight, hearing, strength. Muggles are rarely claimed in mating thus the results vary. In the case of Michael and Talia Hale, Michael received the bite and only experienced a greater sense of hearing. They were married and studied by the most powerful dark sorcerer Claudia Stilinski* on any possible ability advancements.  _ Mom?” Stiles tried to catch his breath for a minute, feeling more confused than he had a minute ago. “ _ For further information on the regards of Claudia Stilinski, follow the asterisk to The Third Hunter, chapter eleven. _ ” He groaned as he searched for the other book, tripping over himself a bit to get to it. “ _ It was rumored Claudia was planning on marrying a muggle, and thus would have to give up the immortality gifted to her by her family. No other sorcerer had returned their gift of life for love before, sorcerers being capable of good weren’t always known for it. One year after she renounced her gift, she vanished. _ ” Stiles tried to review the timeline of his life, realizing she disappeared when she was pregnant. “Oh mom,” He reviewed the information he learned for a minute. One, he was Derek’s anchor and might be Derek’s mate. Two, his parents knew and married Derek’s parents. Three, Stiles' mom was a sorcerer. He always thought both his parents were no majs. Did his dad know his mom was a sorcerer? When she gave up her immortality and gave up on magic, she got sick and now she’s dead and no one knows it. 

_ “Claudia had her fair share of scandal after officiating the wedding of several werewolves while she held the title The Huntress, leader, and code enforcer of hunters.” _ He tried to read further but he was interrupted by his name being called in the halls.

“Hey, there you are! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long. I went down for dinner late, figured you’d already left, and came searching for you. Are you okay? You don’t look so good,” Lydia settled herself down on the closest table beside them. 

“I’m fine, glad it’s a Friday so I can relax a bit tomorrow,” he let out a strained smile. He let his mind wander a bit, did his dad know about mom’s past? If she was the most powerful sorcerer, did she give that all up for him or just because she was done living forever? Did he know how much she sacrificed for him? For both of them?

“You know, some friends and I are going to play a scrimmage tomorrow.” Lydia cut in again, “Get some teammates pumped for the season, if you want to come with, I could use someone on my team. Get your mind off all these essays?” Stiles tuned back in, catching parts of her question.

“Sure, that sounds great,” he smiled. They worked long past closing, Stiles’ easily building a rapport with Madam Pince who let them stay and lock up when they were done. Stiles was used to Lydia’s habit of mumbling as she studied, it’s what made them such great study partners. Stiles was able to ignore Lydia for the most part but if there was a mispronunciation on a charm or a question, he was able to focus back in and help. While Lydia helps Stiles by keeping him grounded. He would also mumble as he worked on his spell work, but he tended to cause objects to levitate or glasses to vanish without realizing it. Lydia always figured it’s because Stiles was just talented. Now with the knowledge of his mom’s past, he was starting to realize what that would mean for him. How powerful he was capable of being, and if he ended up with Derek, what becoming a sorcerer would mean for the pack. He pushed his thoughts aside and finally finished the Astronomy and Charms homework they’d been assigned that week, and began packing up. It was a bit past two in the morning. They charmed their books away, cleaned their area, and locked the door behind them.

“We’ll be out on the pitch around 10, I can walk with you from the entrance if you still want to join us?” Stiles nodded sleepily, walking toward the stairs where they would separate for the night.

“Thanks for tonight Lydia,” he mumbled, his hand waving over his shoulder. It was silent for a few steps as the stairs rearranged themselves.

“Hey, Stiles,” Lydia called from above.

“Yeah?” they stared at each other as the staircase settled for the moment. The silence was kind of getting to him, his fingers started tapping as he waited for her to talk. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask… would you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m already going with the Hale group if you wanted to join us.”

“I meant it more like a date…” her smile drooped as the realization of the question dawned on Stiles. 

“A date? You mean you and me?” she nodded, wringing her hands in her robes, “Lydia you--” but before Stiles could even begin to explain his connection with Derek, or even though he was bi, he knew there would only be one person for him if it worked out; there was a howl from the forest. 


	7. Chapter 7

“Fuck,” his head turned toward the noise as a pain in his body almost made him whine. He fell to his knees as another growl ripped through the air, forcing his own scream to join the noise. He could faintly hear Lydia trying to get through the changing staircase, but he ignored her in favor of getting to Derek. He crawled through the hallways before he found the strength to get to his feet again; struggling to run past the windows as the full moon illuminated the Forbidden Forest, leaving Lydia alone, calling his name back to her. His only thoughts were on Derek, god, how did he not realize it was a full moon tonight? Cora had said his next full moon would be the hardest! What if he hurt a pack member? His clothes and hair were blowing back in the wind once he reached the outdoors. The howls were getting louder and fiercer with each step as the pain in his body lessened. He almost reached the tree line before Professor Finstock tackled him to the ground. 

“Dammit, Stilinski get back inside!” he threw Stiles around before he got a handle on his collar, pulling him back toward the castle, the pain increasing again the further he was dragged.

“Professor! I need--”

“You don’t need shit, why are you even out of bed? It’s freezing out here!”

“Professor!” Stiles looked back at the sound of Cora’s voice. Part of the Hale group started filtering out of the woods. Naked. Except for Allison who was dressed in full black leather gear and a matching crossbow. 

“A part of me wants to ask, the other part says knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine” Professor Finstock grunted, face twisted in disgust. “Get some clothes on you idiots!” He turned around again, grabbing Stiles by the arm as he walked past, “and in case it wasn’t obvious. Detention!” he yelled to the wind, Stiles let himself be dragged back to the dungeons despite the pain. He did keep glancing back toward the Hale family, trying to see if Derek was a part of the group, but they had already begun turning back, Allison leading them. He figured the rest were either trying to stay hidden or trying to keep Derek under control.

He easily collapsed once he reached his bed. McGonagall and headmaster Martin had thoroughly chewed him out. Initially, they wanted him to have detention every day for the rest of the month along with a meeting with his father. But he talked his way out of that, only costing Slytherin a couple of house points in the end. Theo and Jackson didn’t return that night though. Which made Stiles alone with his thoughts. Finstock hadn’t seemed surprised to see the Hales in the forest, more confused and probably annoyed. It would make sense that the teachers were aware of the Hale family’s supernatural ‘situation’, considering they’ve attended Hogwarts since they were eleven. Plus it’d be hard to keep their full moon visits in the forest a bit difficult. Even though werewolves were still largely looked down on, it had been getting better once they’re economic statuses rose. Which Stiles didn’t believe was fair to them, but it was at least progress, right? Their parents were werewolf royalty too so their secret is kind of hard to keep under wraps unless you don’t pay attention to magical creatures. God, Stiles was an idiot. Of course, the teachers know they’re werewolves! He could have made it worse if Lydia ran out with him. He almost outed their family just cause he was… something. Well, he didn’t really know why he needed to get to Derek, just that if he had gotten to him, everything would have been okay. 

“Dammit,” he whispered to the darkness, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes. He fell into a restless sleep that night, no longer comforted by the soft sounds he’d grown used to from Theo and Jackson. 

***

They weren’t back by morning either. Stiles got up slowly, remembering his acceptance to play quidditch with Lydia. He figured this was also a chance to explain why he doesn’t want to date her since he ran out before she got an answer. He didn’t feel hungry so he took his time showering and getting ready for the day in his no Maj clothing. The light shining through his window mocked the bags he felt under his eyes. The lake always seemed to make the sunlight perfectly refract to hit him straight in the face despite how muggy the water was. He walked up the stairs from the dungeons to the entrance hall, saying hello to classmates as he passed, but he still reached the landing a bit quicker than he’d like. He saw the red hair before her whole silhouette, the sunlight on Lydia’s hair made her look angel-like. If he wasn’t so wrapped up in Derek, he’d probably be obsessing over her. She turned as his shoes squeaked behind her.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming after last night. Was everything okay?”

“Sorry about that, everything was fine I think. Are you ready to kick some ass again?” she nodded, shouldering her broom as they walked. 

“Do you not have a broom?”

“I’ll just use one of the schools’ brooms.” They veered a bit to the shed with the brooms, picking the best one they could find before heading to the field. It was already crowded, people wanting to get extra practice in before the season.

“Hey, Allison!” Stiles tried to make eye contact with the other girl once he saw her. He needed to be sure everything was fine. Especially if she were here and not in the forest. How long were werewolves forced to dance under the moonlight anyway? Allison kept staring straight ahead to Lydia though, ignoring the anxiety reeking teen beside her. 

“Hey you guys, ready to play?” her eyebrows wiggled as she got her gloves on. 

“Let’s go, Huntress, the winner buys the butterbeer!” she yelled, walking backward toward the opposite side. Stiles followed, still trying to discreetly make eye contact with Allison. He rolled the sleeves of his flannel up as he mounted the broom. He always played Seeker, so he got into position. 

“You’re on Banshee!” she threw her head back in a laugh. Stiles felt a little confused at the nicknames but maybe they were just closer than he realized. It has been a month and a half since the first day of school. Another classmate of his was in the middle of the field, and when she blew her whistle, he took off like a bullet. He hadn’t realized how much he missed flying until he was right under the cloud lines. After last night’s event, he needed something like this to distract him. Allison and Lydia kept up their banter as the game continued, Stiles looking around for the snitch. 

“I’ve never seen anyone play this badly since Victor Krum broke seven fingers mid-game!” 

“He still won didn’t he!” Lydia shouted back, scoring another point. The game ended and others started for several more hours, Stiles and the other team’s seeker winning the snitch multiple times. Clouds started to form and the rain came with it. Stiles was not prepared for this change, his clothing sticking to his skin in a mix of rain and sweat. He wasn’t sure how long they were going to keep playing for. Allison was in a dress and leggings for christ’s sake! The crowds in the stands had left by this point, the rain making it harder to see the players much less the balls.

Stiles looked down at the soaked team before the snitch made itself known in the corner of his eye. He shot off again, chasing after it. He barely missed getting hit by a beater but did a loop under it to avoid it, chasing the snitch across the field. It was two feet in front of someone in the stands, Stiles’ only focus was on the ball until it was too late. As soon as his fingers closed around it, he stopped his broom, but that didn’t mean his body would also listen to him. He went flying over it, crashing into a wall of a body. He lifted his head from the guy he landed on. 

“Oh shit Derek I’m so sorry,” he began fretting around, full straddling him on the seats. Derek’s body was lying at a weird angle, his head catching the bench behind him, “so Madam Pomfrey’s?” he tried to joke.

“No, I’m fine. Are you okay?” Derek grunted, leaning back up to talk to Stiles, his hands landed at his waist clutching him a little tighter than necessary.

“I’m good,” he breathed out, his whole body slouched as the ache in his body disappeared for a moment. They stared at each other’s eyes, trying to slow their breathing as the rain kept pelting them. 

“You’re okay?--” Stiles started before the booming voice of Finstock rang out.

“Stilinski!” They flinched at the noise.

“Yeah Professor?”

“Call me Coach cause you’re on the team!” Stiles was still on Derek’s lap when Finstock, or Coach, marched up, Stiles turned his head to look toward him. “That was some mighty fine playing out there today. I’m talking to Harris cause you’re mine now.”

“I thought you only coached Gryffindor?”

“I’ll make an exception. Now get off Hale’s lap before I report you both for public indecency.” 

“Shit, right,” Stiles moved off slowly, realizing he got a bit more comfortable than he should have on his lap. He coughed a couple of times, willing his boner not to catch up to the situation. 

“Practice Thursday, at 6 pm!” Coach yelled, turning back to his office. He watched him walk away, trying to figure out how to react. He loved quidditch, loved being a part of a team, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play against Derek, and not get distracted every minute.

“Is Theo and Jackson on the Slytherin team?” he asked him, still facing the direction Finstock left. 

“Yeah, Jackson’s a keeper and I think Theo’s a beater.” Stiles hummed in thought, his mouth splitting into a smile. He would make this work. He could still feel Derek’s eyes on him, making him preen a little as he mounted his broom again.

“I am so going to kick your ass,” he smirked over his shoulder before taking flight again, Lydia and his teammates for the game, came over to check on him. Stiles convinced Allison and Lydia to call it since the rain started turning to hail, and they flew down to the entrance, all separating to their dorms. Stiles got one more shower in then went over to the kitchen to see if he could sneak some food in before dinner. The house-elves usually had sympathy for students who hadn’t eaten all day, thus making Stiles Stilinski a regular in the kitchens. 

“Winky!” he shouted as he entered, “I need your famous American pizza in my belly cause I am-- Ahh!” 

“Hello there Stiles,” Allison was slowly mixing together various ingredients for what could be seen, cookies.

“Hey, long time no see,” Stiles said warily, he felt a charged energy in the room and Allison felt dangerous, “is Derek okay? Is the rest of the pack safe?”

“Listen, Stiles, you have to stop.”

“Stop what?” Allison started walking between the counters, spooning cookie dough on a pan. Stiles started backing up, putting as much distance between the two as possible. 

“Have you ever heard of true mates for werewolves Stiles?” he shook his head, “of course you do, you researched it right?” her eyes were cold, as she smiled at him.

“Listen, Allison, I should go. Got to catch up on some homework, long day tomorrow. You know how it is,” he moved to turn around until a dagger hit the wall beside his face. 

“Stiles, you didn’t think you were the only one allowed in the restricted section, did you? I read every piece of writing you got your hands on. I even read up that bit on your mom. How is Claudia?” 

“Dead,” Stiles said defensively. 

“Pity.” Allison stalked closer, circling the kitchen. She had her wand gripped tight in one hand and another dagger in the other. Stiles felt his head tilt a bit, she knew his mom had died already, he’d already told the pack.

“What are you doing Allison?”

“Just trying to get to know my future pack mom better,”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” he stayed rooted to his spot as the last dagger struck the other side of the wall, this one closer to his cheek. 

“You’ll figure it out,” Allison dropped her wand on the counter, exiting the kitchen, “sooner than you’ll realize,” she giggled as she left. Stiles breathed out, running out the kitchen straight to his room, his appetite gone. 


	8. Chapter 8

He was still feeling uneasy by Thursday. He couldn’t figure out what the point of Allison’s encounter was. Was she trying to scare him cause it kind of worked? It was like she wanted him to be a part of the pack, but also like she’d kill him if he did. So, he avoided her pleasant smile and offers for future quidditch practices after that. He didn’t know how she could go from being downright scary to this bubbling girl. Theo and Jackson had checked in with him about it a couple of times since, mostly trying to figure out why Stiles didn’t want to hang out with the group if Allison would be there. He didn’t want the others to know what Allison had done, it’s not like she threatened him really, just scared the shit out of him. 

Now he was scheduled to go to Finstock’s practice, the last place he felt like being in the world. 

Derek would be there but so would Allison, hopefully, he could just avoid her entirely. Stiles kept grumbling plans to himself to get out of practice as he walked through the darkened hallways. The end of October was hitting hard for the dungeons, freezing temperatures with minimal access to heat sucked. The bright side though, Stiles was looking forward to going to Hogsmeade this weekend. Sure he hated the cold but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to deal with the weather to load up on Derek merch from their local quidditch booth.

“Stiles welcome to the team,” Finstock shouted, “so what position have you played?”

“Seeker.”

“Great! Start stretching.” Stiles nodded, backing away a bit from the booming voice. He stretched out a little taking extra care to stretch his back and arms, it was impossible not to slouch while flying on a tiny piece of wood. Once Allison arrived, he made a point to stand away from her. Derek joined her and he gave Stiles a small wave which he returned. Finally, after roll call, they took to the sky, 

“You know how this goes, if you don’t impress me here, you’re most likely sitting on the bench for the rest of the season. If you somehow do, you play! Parents are proud, girlfriend loves ya! Huh! Everything else is, uh, cream cheese,” Derek and Stiles shared a look next to each other. Both being seekers meant their practice sets consisted of speed flying together, “now get out there and show me what you got!” Coach shouted from the middle of the crowd. They all cheered before starting practice drills and learning new plays. Derek showed Stiles some tricks on how to fully stop without falling over which Stiles punched his shoulder for not letting him live that moment down. Stiles got more comfortable on his broom as the rain started just as suddenly as yesterday. 

“Okay scrimmage time! Greenburg, remember the position is goalkeeper, not goal abandoner!” He kept hovering around the players, calling out different plays, “pathetic. Unbelievably pathetic!” he flew toward Derek and Stiles, “Hale I am profoundly disappointed, get in there!” They were looking for the snitch while trying not to get caught staring at each other. Yet for some reason, that damn snitch kept staying around them, forcing them to invade each other’s space anyway. While Stiles was looking for the ball, he noticed even Theo and Jackson came to watch their awkwardness. 

“Allison! Do you think you can move faster than the lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother!” 

“Are you ever going to grab the snitch?” Stiles teased, shouting to be heard over the rain. He could see Derek roll his eyes at him. 

“I don’t want to hurt you!” 

“You don’t think I could take you?” Derek swung his head back in laughter. Stiles never wanted to forget that damn smile. 

“I’m sure you can handle yourself just fine!” he shouted back, slowly moving closer to Stiles until they were parallel to each other. Stiles got a bit lost in the moment, staring at Derek’s eyes for longer than should be socially acceptable. Those bright green eyes though flashed blue for a moment and Stiles felt his gasp more than heard it. Derek had quickly averted his eyes, hand reaching out impossibly fast.

“Finally!” Coach shouted before blowing his whistle again. Stiles was shaken out of his daze by the sound, Derek had won the game. They lowered themselves down, landing hard on the ground, while Coach finished his closing statements about the match. 

“And Greenburg what was that? That wasn’t a foul, that’s called winning,” he scoffed, “This was a nice practice but thanks to your new friend Stiles here for losing the snitch,” he voiced to half the members of the team, “you’ll spend tonight cleaning up everyone’s piece of equipment and tomorrow, the real work begins.” Stiles felt the three other pairs of eyes stare at him. It was already late and he was exhausted, he felt every muscle in his body ache from the cold and his stiffness. 

“Sorry about that,” Derek came up behind him, picking up several abandoned brooms on the way. 

“For what?”

“Winning, I guess?” his face scrunched up, his nose wrinkling. 

“God you’re cute,” Stiles let slip out. 

“What?” Derek’s eyes grew adorably large, a blush forming subtly on his cheeks. Stiles hoped the rain would have covered that whisper at least a little bit. Damn werewolf hearing.

“Nothing, nothing, sorry, here let me get those,” Stiles fumbled with the extra brooms, trying to catch up with his temporary teammates, “I mean it’s my fault for getting distracted right? I should probably be cleaning up the most, I’ll see you later Derek,” Stiles turned around, juggling the brooms on his small frame. Once he was sure to be out of hearing distance he let out a growl of frustration. 

“Wish you weren’t so fucking awkward bud,” he whispered to himself, setting a chair out to clean the equipment. He was left alone to clean, but at least the other people brought in everything so he didn’t have to spend more time in the rain. He didn’t really mind, at least he could daydream about Derek while he was alone. He set up the brooms beside the sink in the shed, most of the equipment just needed a polish so he started on those, gently humming to himself the latest Taylor Swift song he heard while still in California.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” a slurred voice interrupted behind Stiles.

“Boyd? What are you doing here?” Stiles felt the same charged atmosphere as he had with Allison, chills started crawling down his back.

“He’s a monster you know,” Boyd continued on, his fangs were partially out, slurring his words further, “a murderer.” Stiles rose from his seat, trying to find an exit. Boyd’s eyes were no longer soft, his entire being was intimidating. Stiles felt his anxiety rise, knowing what happened with Allison felt like child’s play. Dealing with someone as large as Boyd, he was sure to lose. 

“Boyd, what are you doing?” Boyd’s head flinched to the side for a second before looking Stiles dead in the eyes.

“Trying to get even,” he had finally gotten to Stiles, crowding into his space to whisper in his ear, “if you’re looking for someone to blame, blame Derek. Allison was just the beginning.” Stiles had closed his eyes, an overwhelming stench of death covered Boyd as his lips grazed his ear. Boyd got a claw out, dragging it against his cheek as he spoke. 

“You should leave now Stiles,” he flicked his wrist and made a thin cut beside his eye. Stiles didn’t need to be told twice, running out into the rain. He shouted out to the silence when he noticed he was alone again,

“Look if you guys don’t want me in your group or whatever then I’m gone, I don’t want to deal with everyone attacking me for no reason.” He walked through the rain all the way to Lydia’s room. He needed a friend who wasn’t completely attached to the Hale pack. Sure, it might look bad on his part, but how could he be a part of a pack that doesn’t even want him. Did Derek even want him? Or was it just his wolf that basically forced him to like him? Stiles wanted one moment of normalcy, no werewolves, no true mates crap, nothing, to be just a normal teenager for a few hours. 

He arrived at the tower, raising the eagle knocker at the Ravenclaw entrance to answer the riddle. The eagle spoke in a whisper, its voice deep and powerful,

“Which came first, the phoenix, or the flame?” Stiles thought for a moment, looking for an appropriate answer.

“A circle has no beginning.” The door creaked open, allowing Stiles to pass through. It was already late into the night, he was honestly surprised he was let in though. He couldn’t remember which room Lydia was in, but luckily he didn’t need to. The common room was wide and circular. The air seemed lighter this high up in the towers and the tall windows highlighted that fact. The only sounds were Lydia’s quill marking up her parchment and the rain hitting the ceiling. She was sitting at a table by a stack of books beside her. Stiles walked up, trying to be a bit louder than necessary, so as not to scare her. 

“Lydia.” She looked up, she wore a simple black pajama set with a long grey cardigan. Her sleeves were rolled up and Stiles could see black writing on her arms. 

“Stiles! What are you doing here?” she rolled her sleeves down when she noticed he was staring; her smile wavered for a moment. 

“I needed a friend and you were the only person I really wanted to talk to so… here I am,” he shrugged. Lydia let out a small smile, gesturing for him to join her.

“How was your first night at practice?”

“Eventful kind of. I had fun, I’m really sore but it was pretty good for a moment there,” he smiled wistfully, the moment with Derek already felt like weeks ago, Boyd really struck a nerve in him. 

“That’s good, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“What about you? How’s Hogwarts treating you?”

“Well, I could do with better food,” she chuckled, “but I like it, I feel like I’ve finally ‘found my people,’ as they say.” They fell into a comfortable silence as Lydia moved her parchment around. 

“Well, I still have class --”

“Could I stay --?” They said simultaneously. Lydia’s eyes widen a fraction, 

“Sure, again I still have classes in the morning but feel free to crash on the floor. You can’t come up to my room or anything but I can bring some stuff down for you, make it a whole sleepover?” 

Stiles nodded, gratefully.

“Okay, you can also shower if you want, I got some extra clothes that are too big for me you can borrow. The washroom is through that door over there, and there are some shampoos and soaps in the faucets. Each is labeled so no need to guess.” She went about arranging pillows on the floor while walking back and forth from her room. Stiles meant to bathe quickly, but the water stayed nice and warm relieving his aching muscles, so he sat in the water a bit longer, trying not to let his thoughts wander. 

“Hey Stiles, I left some clothes out here for you when you’re done,” she knocked. 

“Thanks, Lydia,” he got up from the water, feeling a million times better than before. The clothes she brought out for him fit perfectly, slightly embarrassing but nothing he couldn’t sleep in for a night. The bottoms were definitely just booty shorts on him, as, for the t-shirt, a little loose around the neck but the common room was not as cold as the dungeons were, so he didn’t mind. He walked out, towel drying his hair, and went in search of the strawberry blonde. 

“Oh my god.” He jumped on the pile of pillows and blankets so carefully set up. He let out a groan as his muscles relaxed into the warmth. There was a fireplace in this room that was blazing, helping him feel further at ease. She had set up the pillows in the middle of the room, blankets littered the surrounding area with comfort. 

“Scoot over you starfish,” she giggled, unwrapping her cardigan, and letting it fall to the floor. Stiles didn’t think anything of the display or even thought of how romantic the lighting was, he simply wanted to sleep and hang out with a friend. He moved closer to the edge of the pillow line, letting Lydia slip under the blankets. 

“Thank you, Lydia, really,” he said seriously once she was settled. They both were leaning on their arms, facing each other.

“It’s no problem, you looked like you needed a friend,” he smiled, closing his eyes as he settled in for sleep, “Stiles,” Lydia whispered, he hummed in acknowledgment, “you never did answer me about Hogsmeade on Saturday.” The crackling of the fire along with the rain was the only indication time had passed. Stiles was trying to collect his thoughts before answering.

“Lydia,”

“It’s not happening is it?” he opened his eyes, expecting to see tears or maybe even anger but she just smiled at him. 

“I like you, Lydia, just not like that. I’m sorry,” he said truthfully.

“It’s okay, really, I’d hate to lose you as a friend over this though, could we just forget I ever asked?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind still going to Hogsmeade with you, as friends that is. My plans with the Hales are over I think.”

“Why? Did something happen tonight?”

“Kind of, I’m not really up for talking about it but I don’t think I’ll be spending much time with them from now on.” 

“Okay, I’m always here if you need me,”

“Thanks, goodnight Lydia,”

“Goodnight Stiles,” he leaned over, kissing her on her forehead gently before turning around to sleep. 


	9. Chapter 9

Stiles was the first to wake up, realizing he was spooning Lydia a bit too tightly. It wasn’t his fault he was used to hugging his pillow! So he took his arms off of her and got up to get dressed. Normally at home, he would have gone out for coffee or done something to ease the morning, but with school, he settled with cleaning up his portions of the bedding and waking his friend up.

“Lydia, you got class remember?” Stiles glanced at a nearby clock and saw it was a bit past eight in the morning. He kept tapping her shoulder, 

“Lydia you have to wake up, you only have an hour for breakfast,” as his words came out a violent pain shot through his head, a child’s voice echoed in the darkness of his closed eyes,  _ ‘you have to get up,’ ‘get up.’  _ Stiles breathed through his pain, reaching behind himself to catch his body. Stiles blinked and opened his eyes to fog, he couldn’t see anything further than his own hand. 

_ “You have to get out!” _ the voice continued  _ “only listen to me!” _ He got up, trying to look around, choosing a direction, and just walking. Screams continued to echo, making his heartbeat spike. The haunted houses he used to go to with Scott paled in comparison to these screams. They sounded as if men, women, and children were being murdered right in front of him. He picked up his pace, trying to move in the direction of their pleas. His heavy breath joined the fog as a cold set in; colder than he’d ever had to experience in life. His feet started to stumble as the ground changed to a gravel pavement, but the rocks didn’t make a sound and the voices were finally quiet. Stiles was alone with only a long beep to listen to. The same sound he heard as his mom passed away. He slowed until he got his footing, and the stillness of the moment was filled with chaos again. Voices melded together from past conversations he’s had with friends and his dad. He hit the ground hard as the voices were getting louder, he tried to cover his ears but the voices sounded like they were coming from his own head.

_ “What the hell is a Stiles… ?” _

_ “I should probably have a gun… ” _

_ “Stiles, you should have learned how to protect your mind…” _

_ “I thought you were leaving me… !” _

_ “Now, they’re going to die because of you…” _

_ “You named your kid Stiles Stilinski?...” _

He could feel the panic taking over his body at the unfamiliar voice melded into his past, it was barely a whisper but felt more menacing than Boyd and Allison combined. A stench of death filled the air, along with lines of dread creeping up his back while the fog surrounded him, choking him with its pressure.

“Let me go!” He shouted out to the fog, he blinked and he was back in the makeshift bed with Lydia. He realized he had never gotten up, he was in the exact same position as before. He looked around confirming this was reality; his grip was tight around Lydia’s stomach, yet she was still sleeping. He spasmed out of the blankets, trying to calm down his anxiety. He had no words for what he had just felt, he only knew he needed to puke. 

“Stiles?” he looked over to Lydia’s concerned face.

“I’m okay, it was a dream. I was just dreaming.” He was positive his face did not ease her worry though. He could barely convince himself that it was only a dream. It had all felt too real, too familiar, too…  _ something _ . 

“You should go,” Lydia sneered. Her demeanor changed for a second, before switching back to concern. 

“Sure, I’ll let you get ready for your classes,” Stiles muttered. He got up slowly, his head still pounding. “Thanks again Lydia,” he nodded as he pulled on his clothes over the pajamas. The walk back to his room was unsettling. Stiles couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him for the rest of the journey. Once he got back to the entrance of his common room though, a prefect came to scold him for leaving his room.

“Your bed check shall be at seven pm tonight if you are even a minute late, another week’s worth of detention. Understood?” Stiles’ eyes had wandered and he felt his back straighten as Derek walked by looking furious. His eyes were pointed directly at Stiles, pinning him down with his gaze. Stiles noticed a hint of his fangs were dropping down as well as tiny drops of blood running across his fists. Stiles didn’t understand why Derek looked so angry at him when Boyd and Allison should be the ones in trouble? Shouldn’t Derek be protecting him in some way here? Unless he cares more about his pack than Stiles. Which would technically make sense? They barely know Stiles versus being a pack for most of their lives. Damn, Derek doesn’t actually like him. Derek has finally been able to wiggle out of the wolf’s mindset and he probably realized his obsession with Stiles was just that. The wolf’s fault. He never liked him. Derek turned his head back to face forward and kept walking as if he was satisfied Stiles finally got the hint. Knowing that Stiles felt his whole body grow weaker, every part of him wanted to curl up in bed and sleep. He took the talking to, and the three weeks’ worth of detention after he failed to respond to his prefect. He was dismissed and so he went to his empty room and gave in to the desire to sleep again. 

Stiles missed his afternoon classes. He’d slept for the rest of the day, Theo and Jackson came to check up on him, even Erica at one point to bring him food. If Stiles wasn’t dealing with his internal issues, he would have noticed a collective fatigue amongst the group, but he just kept on wallowing in his own self-pity. If Derek’s wolf only needed him as an anchor to stay human what the fuck was Allison going on about. Or even Boyd? Who was threatening him in his dreams too? All Stiles knew was he needed a friend. He needed his mom. 

His curiosity and frustration over the small interactions were patronizing his mind. It was already nine pm, but the boys he shared a room with hadn’t returned since two. Stiles figured they were giving him some space, so he changed out of the clothing he’d worn since the morning, A.K.A Lydia’s booty shorts with his pants over them, and went to take a bath to work out his plan to sneak into the library. 

He moved out slowly, his protective charms were not holding the same amount of power they usually had, so he walked cautiously. He was able to walk by the prefects with few problems; they fell asleep over the door, so he had to levitate them to the couches, then he was off down the halls. He walked down the halls, stopping a few times while professors were doing their rounds. He tried breathing as evenly as possible, his concentration on the spells was wavering as a new pain started in his body. What felt like an eternity had passed, he made it to the library. Which was locked. 

“Please don’t have some crazy jinx that will knock me into next week,” he whispered, praying to whatever higher spirit was listening, “Alohamora,” he continued, extending his wand to tap on the no-maj lock. The lock clicked open, echoing a bit in the empty hallways. “I guess libraries aren’t normally broken into here,” Stiles mumbled, a little too quickly since a gust of wind did in fact knock him on his ass. “What the fuck was that?” he groaned out, struggling to stand back up, and walked into the room, closing the doors behind him. He looked around at the empty library, soft raindrops tapping against the glass were the only sounds. He walked back toward the restriction section, settling himself on the floor, reopening the old textbooks he never got a chance to delve into. 

“Okay Claudia Stilinski, let’s unlock your tragic backstory,” he continued talking to himself,  _ “Hunter; a ministry department of appointed protectors of muggle and wizard community from magical threats, known as ‘supernatural’ to muggles. The Hunter organization joined the ministry when news of raging violence against magical creatures was reported, i.e. torture. The root organization is located around the world and had been operating for centuries before the merge. Hunters operated on their own rules and hierarchy, spreading the worst traits of humankind to others.  _ Holy shit, mom how the fuck were you a part of this,” Stiles cut himself off, skimming the examples of torture the book authors decided to list. He skipped various pages trying to read more on his mom.  _ “Hunters have a matriarchal leadership where their daughters are trained to be leaders and the sons, soldiers. Hunter training begins in childhood…  _ blah blah blah, childhood trauma ensues, oh here we go, Claudia.  _ The Hunter’s code is ‘We hunt those who hunt us,’ though Claudia Argent changed the code while she held the title Huntress to ‘We protect those, who cannot protect themselves,’ resulting in the splitting of the ministry branch of Hunters, and Rogue Hunters.  _ Okay, judged a little fast, sorry mom.” Stiles couldn’t find any more mentions of his mom, not even a conclusion for the splitting of Hunter factions. Stiles skimmed through the other textbooks he collected on the floor, reading through various lores on werewolves for any information on why Boyd, Allison, and now Derek were acting strange. He found a book with mentions of his mom first, skimming through the pages.  _ “Claudia was abandoned as a baby on the steps of an orphanage. Gerald, a doctor at the site took pity on her and decided to raise her alongside his own daughter, Kate. He grew fond of the two girls as they both aged into the Hunter lifestyles, Claudia easily becoming the youngest skilled Hunter in over a hundred years. Her skills caused resentment from Kate, though they always settled into friendship again. At the age of eight, she had been able to effectively track and kill Chimaeras, resulting in her becoming the leader of her faction of Hunters, at the age of ten. She was a lethal killing machine, subservient to her adopted father Gerald. However, she received her letter to attend Ilvermorny, and it was discovered she had magic in her blood. The Hunters in her faction turned on her, forcing her to follow the code and kill herself before the magic could fully develop in her system. She ran away the same night to attend the school.”  _ Stiles took a deep breath before continuing, reading aloud helped keep him awake, but his throat was starting to hurt from the lack of use. He had conflicting feelings about his mom, he could only remember the good times, the laughter, her kind eyes, the feeling of happiness when he was in her arms. But reading about her, learning how she could kill any magical creature without a second thought, hurt his heart. He took another deep breath and read on,

_ “During her time in school, she turned to the Dark Arts, creating a family with sorcerers from all around the world. One being a friend of Nicholas Flamel, who gifted her eternal life at the age of eighteen. She caused chaos, relying not only on her magic skills but also on combat training from her past. As she grew older, news of the powerful sorcerer who craved power overall spread. Creatures and wizards alike had fear of one day being caught by her magic or crossbow. Yet, at the age of twenty-five, everything had changed. The chaos she had reigned among the lands was resolved and the desire to rule over all creatures ceased. She changed for the better and was appointed Huntress in the Ministry department within a year. Rumors later spiraled that she had plans on marrying a muggle, that whoever they were had been able to face down the walls of chaos and won her heart.  _ Wow, dad, you’re kind of a hero to these people.” Stiles felt a small tear run down his cheek as he thought of how strong his dad has been for years.  _ “Though, the happy endings end here. Once Claudia had returned her gift of life she vanished…”  _ Stiles remembered reading these parts, opting to head back to his room to sleep a bit more. He didn’t get all the answers he wanted, but it was nice to get to know his mom more. He could barely remember what she looked like, but he remembered how she made him feel. How safe and protected. Kind of how Derek used to make him feel. Stiles hugged the book to his chest a little tighter, the hurt in his heart was back again, making him get up and start putting the books away again, wanting nothing more than to lie down and sleep. 


	10. Chapter 10

“Lumos,” Stiles whispered in the empty hallways. He wished he’d brought at least a jacket with him as a chill ran down his spine. His hair was damp as he mumbled his protective charms once more, adding a warming charm to the mix of incantations. He stole a lost textbook in the hallways and mumbled,

“Focillo,” moving his wand clockwise, hugging the object close to his body. He looked outside the windows, realizing how much time had slipped away from him in his quest for knowledge. The sky was clear as the moon shone from above. It illuminated its light through the windows, casting shadows around Stiles. He mulled over the information he got about his mother, trying to figure out how it would help him find out what’s up with the pack. He paused in silence, tilting his head a bit and nodding along to each fact. One, mom was a hunter, super good at her job, amazing references, joins a magical school and becomes even better at said job. Two, mom changes her mind and likes everyone again, specifically, falls in love and doesn’t hate the world anymore. Three… 

“Okay, there is no three. That’s it then?” Stiles began talking out loud, “okay, zero point in heading out other than wanting to feel closer to mom. Got it,” he mumbled frustratedly, he continued to walk, letting his mind wander as he felt himself growing weaker with every step. The constant pain he had been in since he'd arrived at school was annoying to deal with, the pain Derek caused him hadn’t helped that situation. He had found comfort in learning more about his mom, but there were more important questions that needed to be answered. Stiles also wished he’d already confess about knowing they’re werewolves. Allison had called him out on his research, but no one else confronted him, or even questioned him about his knowledge on werewolves. Stiles was too busy thinking that he hadn’t noticed how hard it was to walk until he reached the staircase to the dungeons. His eyes were losing focus as a weight felt pressed against his back. He was reminded of his nightmare and the fog so he tried calming down his breathing as he started counting his fingers. Stiles continued shuffling forward as he tripped on an object that was abandoned on the floor. He hit his cheek against an invisible being on the way down, the sound of the slap echoed in the hallways, causing Stiles to flinch a bit more from the noise than the actual pain. His concentration on his enchantments broke as he sat up from his position on the floor. 

“Fuck, that one’s going to bruise,” he mumbled, a sense of deja vu hit him as he looked at the space he had bumped in to. “Erica?” A wand appeared, moving slowly across the body. A boy appeared, hunched over himself, leaning heavily against the wall. “Isaac? What are you doing here?” Stiles sat up, moving a little closer to him. He looked like a feral animal, his eyes were glowing yellow, and his fangs were coated with blood. 

“Something’s happening,” he whispered. 

“Isaac, what’s going on?” Stiles had never been able to hang out with Isaac alone before, but he knew how much Derek cherished the boy and so a fierce protective cord struck Stiles seeing Isaac like this, no one was allowed to hurt their pup. He examined his body further, he was wearing a loose sweatshirt and jeans with some running shoes. All pieces of clothing had claw marks cutting the fabric, with more dirt and blood coating his shoes. His stolen textbook laid down beside the object he had tripped over, a pitch black crossbow, though the arrows were missing, the weapon felt evil. Stiles turned back to look Isaac in the eyes, reaching out to touch his cheek, but his growl stopped him. “Hey, none of that. Now, tell me what’s wrong,” Stiles ran his thumb across his cheeks in a soothing line. Isaac stilled for a moment, his eyes widened as he watched Stiles’ concerned face and slowly he lost the fight in him and sagged against Stiles’ hand. 

“I don’t know. Everyone was just acting crazy and they came out of nowhere. We were distracted though, Boyd and Allison have been missing since yesterday. Even Theo and Jackson disappeared. Lydia called a meeting, we didn’t even know what she wanted, but then they showed up.” Isaac rambled as he sagged further into Stiles’ hand, baring his throat as whines mixed in with his voice, he slowly shifted back to a human, leaving only his yellow eyes. 

“Who Isaac, who showed up?” Stiles whispering got a hint louder in his desperation. Isaac stilled, taking a deep breath and then another.

“Rogue Hunters”

“What.” Stiles said in disbelief. What were the chances the night he researches his mom and hours later hunters come knocking on his door. He stilled, looking around at the shadows in the hallways. 

“Derek told me to hide, I ran as fast as I could. I don’t know if he made it out, I just ran. Why did I run?” tears started falling as the realization of abandoning his alpha hit him.

“Okay, hey, you were following an order. Derek wanted you safe for a reason okay? Come on, let’s go to my room and get some rest, we can patch you up later okay?” Isaac nodded as he slowly got up to his feet. Stiles redid his enchantments on the both of them, nonverbally, not wanting any prying ears to hear which spells he was using. Either way, he was tense as they walked in silence, both limping to Stiles’ room. He peaked over their shoulders a thousand times, trying to get rid of the feeling of being watched despite the spells. They got to the common room and snuck back in easily, the prefects were still sleeping on the couch where Stiles left them. They hobbled the rest of the way to Stiles’ bed. They both laid down, sharing the blankets as Isaac curled in on himself. 

“Hey Stiles,” he hummed in response, he was still thinking over everything Isaac had confessed. If Theo and Jackson disappeared, had Boyd and Allison taken them? Why was Lydia even there? “Why do you feel weak?” Stiles felt his head tilt at the question.

“What do you mean?”

“You should be fine, but you’re in pain. Why?”

“Isaac, why do you think I’m in pain?”

“I can feel it, I can still feel it.” Isaac’s voice was coated in awe, he looked back up into Stiles’ eyes, and he smiled, fresh tears started falling from his eyes. Stiles felt too tired to question the exchange so he answered honestly.

“I don’t know, we can figure it out tomorrow.”

“That’s okay, I think I know the answer already.” Isaac turned his back to Stiles, he was on the outside of the bed, slightly squishing Stiles into the wall. 

“Goodnight Isaac,”

“Goodnight mom.” 

Isaac was awake by the time Stiles woke up, his body felt lighter after their nap. The emotional and physical pain he had been in was slightly lifted after Isaac called him mom. He had no idea how nice those words sounded to hear; how Isaac’s words fit versus when Allison had called him the pack mom. 

“Where are you going?” he asked Isaac, who was frantically moving around the room. They’d only been asleep for three hours but the adrenaline Stiles felt watching Isaac move made him forget his sleep. 

“Derek’s okay, I need to get to him.”

“How do you know?”

“I can still feel you,” he smiled back at Stiles, “I knew I wouldn’t be any help earlier though, thanks for convincing me to sleep by the way, but I need to get our Alpha back.”

“Okay hold up, I need answers, now.”

“And you’ll get them, just not right now.”

“Are you serious?”

“Look Stiles, I don’t have time to give you answers, the longer we talk here, the less time I have to save Derek okay?” Stiles couldn’t really fight with that logic, Isaac was still grabbing random items from Theo and Jackson’s side of the room, stuffing it all in a tiny bag around his neck. 

“Fuck that, I’m coming then!” Stiles jumped up, leaving no room for an argument as he started to change his clothing, “I knew I would find a use for this combat gear,” he had been hopeful to be accepted in the Defense Against The Dark Arts combat program. It was a fast track into Auror training once you graduated. He wasn’t able to convince the head of the program in just his letters though, so he was planning on convincing them in person at the end of the year. The clothes hugged his body tightly as he zipped up his jacket and pulled on his boots. He raised his wand and started whispering protective enchantments around the two. Isaac looked a little impressed, his mouth forming a surprised smile.

“Okay, I’ll admit it, you look like a badass.”

“Thank you, let’s get out of here.”

“We have to get Finstock though.”

“What?”

“Do you want answers or not?” Stiles felt skeptical, but considering Coach’s behavior regarding werewolves, it would be a surprise if he  _ weren’t _ a part of the pack in some way. 

“Lead the way,” he breathed out. 

The two boys ran through the hallways, avoiding any wandering professors, and ghosts floating around in the morning light, while Stiles filled Isaac in about the Rogue Hunters.

“You got all that just from information on your mom?”

“Yeah, crazy right? Except there weren’t any mentions of what happened between the two factions of Hunters after my mom changed their code! Like someone is trying to cover something up.”

“So what? You think whoever has been targeting us hired the Hunters to kill us?”

“No! I think they are the Hunters! Look,” Stiles stopped for a minute, the pain in his head returning for a brief minute as he tried explaining his theories. “I know about you guys. I know you’re werewolves and I’m not scared. I’m not running away okay. I’m here to help and I know I can. I’m one of the best wizards in this place, I have excelled in all of my classes for years, and my mom was the most powerful sorcerer. So trust me when I say, the Rogue Hunter  _ leaders _ are targeting Derek because of his royal blood, they want him and his entire pack dead. But what I want to know is why everyone hates me for some reason! Allison, Boyd, even Derek himself looked like they wanted to murder me. Allison and Boyd almost did! This scar on my cheek isn’t exactly a paper cut!” Stiles exhaled harshly, spilling all the information that had been in his head since he first saw Isaac. Isaac’s eyes widened as Stiles was yelling at him, his mouth parting a bit in shock. Stiles had never been angry with anyone before, weeks of exhaustion and frustration finally broke him though. He felt a little bad that it was Isaac he took it out on, but dammit Isaac promised him answers. 

“Okay,” he began slowly, “so you know we’re werewolves,” Stiles nodded, crossing his arms as something to do under the scrutiny of Isaac’s eyes. “Well that takes the pressure off of me then,” he smiled, “just don’t let anyone else know that you know, okay?” Stiles nodded again. 

“Why?”

“You’re too smart for your own good, Stiles,” Isaac smiled, “it’s just one of those things that is told by the Alpha. None of us can tell you and you weren’t supposed to go figuring it out either,” Isaac chuckled softly, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. 

“You weren’t exactly hiding it well,” Stiles deadpanned. Isaac shrugged nonchalantly and they kept running. 

“Anyways, we don’t know what’s been up with Boyd and Allison either, as for Derek…” Isaac trailed off as they went up a few flights of stairs toward the Gryffindor common room. Finstock had an office and a room in the same wing, as he was the Gryffindor quidditch coach. 

“Tell me, Isaac,” Stiles asked forcefully. 

“Are you dating anyone Stiles?” he was taken aback at the question, feeling himself slow down again to a speed walk. 

“No?”

“I mean, that’s what I thought, but you smelled exactly like her, and then she shows up and asks for a meeting with the Alpha and basically destroys Derek. I couldn’t help but think you betrayed us for a minute there.”

“Wait what? What are you talking about?” Stiles fully stopped this time, putting a hand on Isaac to stop him as well. 

“Lydia! You reeked of her scent, Derek believed he was too late, and you being his anchor and more obviously in love with you, it was insanely difficult for him to move on from. Plus your prefect said you hadn’t been back in your room all night, what else was he supposed to think?”

Stiles felt the groan in the back of his throat before it came out and he spasmed his arms out in his frustration. 

“How was I supposed to know I smelled of Lydia?!” he groaned out. He leaned up against one of the windows in the hallway, seeing the sun peek up behind the forest, “what did Lydia say when she called the meeting?” He continued looking toward the sun.

“Um, she said she won. That you guys were officially mated, and how Derek lost you and will lose everything,” Stiles felt anger grow in his body at the confrontation. Why would she do this?

“What happened after that?”

“Well, she kept attacking Derek, describing things that you had supposedly done, how her scent had still lingered on you because of how close you were. Stiles, she’s not human, she wouldn’t know the things she had said if she were,” Stiles nodded along with Isaac’s words, taking them in and letting them simmer into hatred, “then she called in the Hunters, they separated us, our magic was nothing compared to automatic weapons so we shifted. But it was too late.”

“Okay, first things first, we get Coach for whatever fucking reason, and then we go kill some bitches,” he tightened his grip on his wand, not bothering to wait for Isaac as he ran the rest of the way to Finstock’s office. 


	11. Chapter 11

With Stiles being on a warpath and Isaac having werewolf powers, they arrived quickly, barging through Finstock’s office to get to his room. Stiles slowed down to let Isaac take the lead. 

“Coach, it’s time,” Isaac whispered through the door. There was a loud bang and sounds of shuffled clothing before Finstock poked his head through the door.

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“Coach, it's six in the morning,” Stiles cut in, taking in his messy hair and the drool still falling from his mouth. 

“Stiles Stilinski, if I were four years younger I’d punch you,” he whispered, passing between the boys while pulling a sweatshirt on, 

“What? Coach, that doesn’t even make sense.” Finstock waved his hand over his shoulder, moving back to talk to Isaac,

“How many were there?”

“At least eight,”

“That’s not too bad, mind if I ask a question?”

“Sure?” 

“What the hell is Stilinski even doing here dressed like a kid in a batman costume?” Stiles made a face while looking over his clothes. He didn’t look that bad did he?

“Quit making that look,” Coach chastised. 

“What look?”

“The kind of look that makes us want to punch you,” Cora’s voice cut in, scaring Stiles. She entered the office, meeting them in the middle of the room. She was limping heavily on her right side, wincing as she walked. Isaac tilted his head at her pain but she put a hand in front of her before realigning the bones in her leg and hips, cracking them in place until she could stand upright again. 

“Much better,” she mumbled, Isaac walked around the others, giving a tight hug to Cora. Stiles felt relief at seeing the other Hale and ran up to hug her around Isaac. 

"Where have you been?" Isaac asks around Stiles' head. 

"Someone got the drop on me, I woke up locked in the Room of Requirement. I had these chains on me. Silver," she rolled her eyes, backing out of the group hug a bit to show the chains she had been tied up with, "real amateur hour over here. I couldn’t heal right away since my whole body was basically a pretzel. Either way, I know Derek's in trouble. Lydia was filling me in before we were attacked--" Cora nodded her head toward the door, revealing the redhead staring at the floor. 

Isaac moved first, running the rest of the way, out the door. He flung Lydia inside the room by her hair, closing the door behind them once he had checked if there were others waiting. Cora was frozen in her spot, looking at the two in confusion. Isaac’s feral looks were back, his eyes glowed fiercely as his fangs dropped down. He used his claws to grab Lydia by the neck and pinned her against the wall while Stiles moved in front of Cora, pushing her toward Coach’s side of the room. 

“Where is he!?” Isaac growled in her face, choking her a bit tighter. 

“Monsters” she whispered back. She tried screaming, twisting her body in the air, kicking Isaac away.

“What’s going on?” Cora asked, surprised, fangs also dropping trying to figure out if she should be protecting her pack or Stiles’ friend. 

“She’s the one who called the Hunters,” Isaac snarled. Cora looked between the two, trying to get around Stiles without hurting him. Coach stood by, honestly, looking ready to run back to bed than deal with their drama. 

“What are you talking about? She was with me the whole time!” Isaac, loosened his grip for a moment, feeling conflicted at disagreeing with his pack. He looked back at Cora, eyes inspecting hers before reaching a non-verbal agreement, releasing Lydia.

“You. Talk now.” Isaac ordered as they watched her crumbled on the ground. She started coughing before starting her explanation. Stiles felt bad for a minute, this was his friend.   
“Answer my question first, what kind of monster are you?” she snarled back. 

“We’re not monsters, we’re werewolves,” Isaac answered as angrily as Lydia. 

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she started, her shoulders slouched slightly as a little of her fight left her, “but I think someone is possessing me,” she looked up at the group, as angrily as she could muster. She knew her odds of survival, if they didn’t like her answers, were slim. 

“What?” Stiles cut in, Lydia moved her eyes to him, her body relaxed further as she leaned back against the wall. 

“I sleep, I wake up, something’s changed. I’ve started writing on my arms, little bits of magical creature lore. The history of your mom for example. About things that exist but I have no need to know,” she looked between the faces, ignoring the looks they were giving each other. “except this isn’t my handwriting,” Stiles felt the look on his face turn to suspicion as she flung her arms out for them to inspect. 

"I'm not saying we believe you, but continue," he said begrudgingly.

"Okay, for starters, I honestly don't remember the quidditch match we had, or watching you leave from our sleepover, and countless classes I've missed doing god knows what!" She huffed out, she was breathing hard as she stared at each person in the eyes. She rose from her spot, lifting the back of the shirt she had on. 

"Today I woke up with this."

They all stared as Lydia turned around to reveal figures along her back. 

“What is that?” they all stared. It was a large spiral burned into her back, leaving a red tint against her fair skin and in the middle, what looked like a flower blooming. 

“Fleur de Lis” Coach interrupted from the back of the group. Stiles almost forgot about the man if not for the continuous foot-tapping he had during the interrogation. 

“What does that mean?” Cora asked, a bit impatiently. Finstock pushed himself toward the front, following the spiral with his eyes.

“The spiral is the symbol of revenge, but that middle one is the Fleur de Lis. The lily flower. I don’t remember which Hunter family uses it, but that’s a Hunter symbol,” Coach finished, placing his hands on his hips as he turned back to the group. 

“Okay, so just reconfirming what we already know, there are Hunters at Hogwarts who have attacked you guys and stolen someone for revenge on something connected to said Hunters, and you guys are going to get them back. How am I doing so far?” Lydia said sarcastically, turning around while pulling down her shirt again. 

“Yeah, of course, we’re going to get him back,” Stiles turned to look at Lydia, the same confident look she carried at Ilvermorny was back, the old Lydia that knew what she wanted and how to work for it, not the timid one that had been scared out of her wits before. 

“Okay, I’m coming with you then,”

“I think you forget,” Isaac closed in on Lydia again, pushing her against the wall, “we don’t trust you.”

“Yeah, well there’s a reason I’m here right? That I’m the one they decided to possess. I’m owed some answers to being used as a meat sack. Okay?” She pulled on a jacket that had been forgotten by the door, “We’re losing time, I think I can remember the way,” she started walking out the door as the others followed close behind. The sun had risen and so had several students. They moved their way through the hallways, no longer having to sneak around in the dark, walking out of the entrance to the forest. 

“How?”

“I kept fighting for control. It was weird like I could see through my eyes, feel my body moving but not being able to control any of it. It got worse earlier today, I woke up in the Forbidden Forest before stumbling out of there, just to be knocked out again when I met up with Cora.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“Yeah, it was Allison.”


	12. Chapter 12

It was silent the rest of the walk toward the forest. No one dared ask any more questions for fear of what the answers might be. And even though they didn’t trust Lydia completely, Allison’s betrayal wasn’t so far fetched for Stiles. Isaac and Cora looked horrible though, their trust in their pack was so strong, hearing Allison betray their friends was probably the final kick in the gut. Stiles didn’t want to add to their pain by sharing his experience with Allison, or even Boyd. All that mattered was finding Derek, and then maybe figuring out what they could be together. 

They continued walking, passing the small hut that housed the gamekeeper and finally stopping at the edge of the forest. 

“Okay then, I came out through here, it’s maybe a three hour walk straight down this path,” Lydia moved some branches aside to reveal broken branches and trampled leaves, evidence someone had been down this way. 

“Wands out kids, we don’t know what we’re walking into,” Finstock muttered from the back. He started passing out gear for them, pouches of water and a small bag of emergency equipment. 

“Extension charm,” he smiled at Isaac as he took the tiny satchel. They all gripped their wands tightly, moving together toward the forest. Lydia walked through the dense entrance first, Stiles upon immediately losing sight of her, followed close behind. He grew nervous as he lost sight of the others behind him too, he could still hear them, but being shrouded in darkness was daunting. Cora joined them in the darkness before a voice was heard through the trees. 

“Professor Finstock?” they all stilled as they watched Coach, he hadn’t made it into the forest yet, closing all the loose bags and making sure they weren't being followed. 

“Ahh, Headmaster Martin,” Finstock rose from his crouched position by the bags, hoisting them on his back.

“Mom?” Lydia whispered, leaning back against the trees to see the two. 

“What are you doing out here so early in the morning? Breakfast is about to begin, and along with that morning announcements.”

“Well this became extremely uncomfortable,” Stiles heard Coach whisper, “I could ask the same about you, Headmaster,” he said louder, grabbing her arm to lead her away from the forest, “you can’t be late, you’re the announcer!”

“I heard there was a comotion last night in the Forest, I wanted to make sure we didn’t need anyone out here guarding it,” she explained, their voices disappearing in the wind as they got further away. 

“Shit, there goes our marksman,” Cora whispered. 

“What? You have a gun?!” Lydia shouted as quietly as she could.

“No!” Cora waved her face away from hers, “we have crossbows.”

“Oh my god,” Lydia rolled her eyes, looking away from the castle, “come on, we don’t want to get caught if my mom does decide these woods need to be guarded,” she waited until the others were ready before moving on. 

“Lumos,” Cora whispered in the stillness, falling in line behind Lydia, while Isaac followed. Stiles waited a few more seconds to watch the castle grounds, something felt dangerous about this walk, but he didn’t want to voice his displeasure to the universe, so he followed the others. 

The four kept their wands up, letting the light at the end guide them through Lydia’s morning escape. They had been walking for over an hour, the only sounds being the crunch of their feet, and the slow breathing of their lungs. The trees were denser the further they walked and despite the fact that the sun had already risen hours ago, it was pitch black. Isaac and Cora had already shifted, taking in their surroundings with heightened senses. Cora would stop at times, telling the others to stay down as the creatures in the forest walked by. Fog kept the ground soft and moist, letting them see various footprints of said creatures. The whole situation kept Stiles distracted and filled with adrenaline that he almost forgot about the pain that was slowly returning, but a chill ran through his body that helped him remember. 

“You all right?” Isaac asked, noticing his fidgeting behavior as they walked. 

“Yeah, I don’t know why, I just can’t seem to get warm,” he mumbled back. His layers of gear were charmed to insulate his body, yet something was wrong and he felt his body weaken.

“Maybe you should sit down, take it easy,” Isaac called out to Lydia as he felt out, catching Stiles’ wrist. Black lines traveled from Stiles’ skin to Isaac’s, causing both to flinch as some of his pain was soothed, “you’re in pain," Isaac looked angry for a minute before leading him to a clearing, a tree stump perfect for sitting on. 

“It’s not that bad. Just more like a dull ache,” they didn't have time to worry about him, they needed to save their pack.

“Where?”

“Sort of everywhere.”

“Dude you’re freezing,” Cora walked up behind Stiles, taking in his translucent skin and weakened pulse, “tell us the truth. How much does it really hurt?”

Before Stiles could try to answer, they were interrupted by howls in the forest. Lydia let out a small squeak as she flinched at the power, falling to her knees while Isaac and Cora dropped to the ground, faces against the dirt. 

“What’s happening?” Stiles rose to help the others, he was left unaffected by the sounds other than a shiver of fear in his body. He looked around automatically for help, but the small clearing they had found themselves in was empty. Stiles could only watch helplessly as his friends looked like they were hit with the Cruciatus curse. 

“It’s him, he’s losing control,” Cora struggled to say, she fought to stay shifted as their faces contorted between wolf and human, but once the howls stopped, they were human again. Stiles dropped down to inspect their faces, their eyes turned yellow as the silence spread and the air felt charged. Stiles straightened as he looked around the opening. It was a small clearing, just large enough for a few people, but he felt like they were being watched. He helped Isaac to his feet first, letting him guard for danger as he helped the girls. Lydia looked shaken and just as weak as he felt. Cora looked downright angry. 

Their wolves finally took over as a twig snapped behind them.

Stiles moved first this time, casting non-verbal protective enchantments to enclose his friends. He moved faster than his body was used to, moving around to make their bubble as large as he could. He couldn't risk Isaac and Cora getting hurt protecting him. He continued expanding the circle until no one could be within eight feet of them. With his safety bubble intact, he waited for the newcomer to circle them. 

“No one ever mentioned he was actually smart,” a woman called out, stepping barefoot into the clearing. Stiles knew it felt too exposed, too coincidental they got stopped here. 

“Steady now, Kali,” another voice called from the forest, “she wants him alive,” Liam walked out beside the woman. 

“What the fuck?” Cora gasped out.

“Doesn’t mean we can just let them walk out of here now that we can’t see them. Who’s to say his magic is strong enough to withstand ours anyway, hmm?” Stiles watched as more people gathered out of the woods, Erica and Malia emerged next to Liam. 

“Oh boy, okay, we have to get out of here,” Stiles whispered frustrated. What was happening to Derek’s pack? Stiles started whispering charms on the others, allowing them to move out of their safety bubble and disappear back into the trees. He just needed to wait for an opening. 

"Since I know you can still hear me Stiles, I'll let you in on a little secret," the woman Liam called Kali spoke to their bubble, "she's already captured all the players on the board. She owns the whole pack and they haven't even realized! She's caused doubt to bleed into your heart, and abandonment in Derek’s," she sneered to the others. They all began laughing slightly, looking deranged.

"We'll let you go for now, they want to have some fun with you after all. You're getting closer anyways," Malia called out, it seemed like she was staring at Stiles in the eyes, but she shouldn't be able to see him. 

Once the group started backing away, Stiles waited on Cora’s signal to even breathe again. 

“Let’s get out of here.” 

Stiles led the others back onto the trampled path from before and broke out into a run once he wasn’t afraid of the others seeing any moving branches. Cora was the one to stop them, explaining that she couldn’t hear anyone anymore. 

“What the hell are Liam, Erica, and Malia doing helping the fucking enemy!?” Stiles shouted to Lydia, “what are you hiding? Were you trying to lead us to that trap?” 

“No! I swear! I had no idea what that was! You have to believe me!”

“Why should we?”

“I’m your friend!”

“A few hours ago you were saying you don’t even remember hanging out together,” Stiles looked Lydia in the eyes, trying to figure out what the truth was. 

“You know what guys, we’re all really confused and I’m sure we’re just angry because we’re hungry. So, I’m sure Coach packed some things in our bags to eat right? Let’s just take a breath and thank our lucky stars that we got away for now. Okay?” Isaac settled the others down, taking a seat against an uprooted tree truck. The others fell silent again, Stiles reinforcing their charms, just in case. Why they hadn't protected themselves from the beginning, he will never know. Cora started pacing, guarding their small group as she stumbled on a tree root, catching herself on another tree. She flung her head back, letting out a frustrated yell but cut it off as something caught her eye. 

“Wait a minute, there’s that symbol again,” Cora looked behind Isaac as he was trying to use the Accio spell to sort out what was in his bag, “Isaac is there a flashlight in that bag?” Cora hid her wand, explaining that if someone caught up with them, they'd at least have a hidden weapon somewhere. 

“No-maj equipment doesn’t work on Hogwarts grounds,” Lydia tried explaining.

“They do once you’re far enough away from the castle,” Isaac countered, removing a flashlight from his satchel.

"You think an hour walk out is far enough from the castle?" Isaac answered Lydia's scoff by clicking the flashlight on and off aimed at her face. 

“Shine it for me, Lydia,” Cora handed the light to Lydia, having the others look at the burned symbols on the trees. 

“Lydia, could you please just hold the flashlight still for a second? It’s really hard to see anything when you keep shaking it like that,” Stiles called out behind him. 

“I’m shaking it like this because we’re in the middle of nowhere with no one to help us and we’re being attacked by yet another razor clawed monster. And I’m terrified.”

“Well just be slightly less terrified!”

“Easy for you to say!” Stiles scoffed a bit, looking at the burns on the fallen tree. Lydia's shaky hands didn't help but neither did the constant fog. His clothing was damp from the condensation in the air, weighing down his body and adding an unnecessary amount of pain to his worn out body.

"There are Hunter’s symbols all over the trees. Why?"

Isaac questioned, wandering around in a small circle to other trees. 

"We really have no idea what we're doing, huh" Stiles asked, feeling slightly defeated. The revenge symbol with the Hunters Fleur De Lis was burned into all the trees surrounding them. Looking up, the symbols traveled as high as they could see. Stiles felt chills travel down his back. Shit, what were they walking into when they find Derek. 


	13. Chapter 13

They kept moving, relying on flashlights and Stiles' wand, just in case they walked into another trap. They all drew silent again as the tension increased. They tried exchanging words, but the fatigue of their travel along with the fading adrenaline rush was taking a toll on all of them. Stiles looked around though, taking in the denser forestry and limited visuals. They were already climbing through the roots, pushed against each other uncomfortably. The fog was clearing up slightly, but with the trees it’s not like it made a difference. As they walked, he couldn't help but think how incredibly under prepared they were for whatever was going to happen. He had very little skills on fighting and even though he was great at dueling, he doubted Hunters would follow the rules on it. He was 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bone, okay? Sarcasm is really his only defense here. 

Yet, after everything he couldn't help but feel completely safe with his pack. Cora took the lead with Isaac at the rear since they lost their trail hours ago, sandwiching the other two in the middle to follow their movements. They had completely shifted after they kept hearing strange noises in the distance. Cora didn't trust anything else in this forest so they changed. And Stiles was even starting to question his original stance on misunderstood magical creatures. Isaac explained that their senses were heightened when they were fully shifted though, it did cause them to lose their ability to speak to the others, but Stiles didn't mind. It's not like they were talking much to begin with. 

He got distracted as they walked, admiring their fur. Cora's was a darker brown with strands of honey along her tail. Her ears raised up like a dog as her head turned from side to side, checking out the areas as they walked. Their bodies were a lot larger than Stiles realized. Cora explained earlier since they were part of the supernatural, their wolf tends to be a little bigger than an actual wolf. Which is already huge. Both wolves easily reached his chest, but apparently Derek was larger since he was an Alpha while they were Betas. The thought of huge dogs always being around him freaked him out a little, even though Stiles knew they wouldn't hurt him, they could easily just lay on him and squish him to death. He looked back toward the other wolf, taking in his rugged look. Isaac’s fur was lighter, a softer looking brown from top to tail. Stiles could see some patches of fur missing though, long strips on his chest and a couple scars on his back. Stiles had read werewolves are able to heal, so why wasn't Isaac? He locked that thought away, he'd ask when their Alpha's life wasn't at stake. They both looked strong though, almost regal. Stiles couldn't help but feel pride swell at the two protecting them. He took a few deep breaths, relaxing his body before the image of him and Lydia just riding the wolves entered his head, looking like something out of Twilight. He couldn't stop the snort even if he tried. The wolves flinched slightly at the sudden intrusion of sound. Which only made Stiles laugh louder. 

"Sorry guys, just an idea here, why don't Lydia and I just ride your backs to Derek?" Lydia joined in the laughter at the looks the wolves gave them. It was nice to have the short break from the tension, it was very clearly a no from both of them, but it was a nice moment either way.

"Well, none of us know where we're going. At this point we're just walking aimlessly," Lydia giggled, trying to control her laughter again. Stiles kept laughing, enjoying the moment until he realized he couldn't stop. 

"Lydia, what's happening?" His question was met with Lydia pointing and laughing at flowers on the ground,

"Someone's planted Jimsonweed!" She laughed, losing her balance and landing on the ground, surrounded by the plants.. 

"What's that?"

"Devil's Snare!" They both continued laughing as the wolves inspected the area. They weren't affected by the plants but could see how fast the two were becoming delirious with the scent. The small lilac flowers released their fumes, mixing in with the fog. Stiles could faintly hear Cora and Isaac growling beside them, making barking noises before they picked the wizards up, tossing them on their backs and riding further into the forest. 

“I thought you said you took three hours from the spot you were dropped out to the castle?” Stiles laughed out from Isaac’s back. 

“Yeah, what about it?” she giggled in return.

“It’s been like five!” They both broke into laughter as if they were sorority girls on their twenty-first birthday. Stiles felt his sides beginning to cramp and the urge to pee suddenly made itself known. The wolves ran through the forest, twisting and turning through the trees. No one knew where they were going at this point, just that they needed to get away from another danger in the forest. 

Stiles and Lydia continued giggling on the backs of the wolves, taking in the sound of thunder and lightning filling the air. Eventually the two stopped after Cora and Isaac had run far enough away from the plants. They both shifted into humans, pulling clothes on from behind some trees.

"Hey, have some water," Cora handed the bottle to Stiles first, letting him drink as much as he wanted before handing it to Lydia. 

"Did you say those plants were Devil's Snare?" Isaac asked, taking the water from Lydia as she nodded.

"No-majs' call it that. It's not the vine Devil's Snare that we learned about in class. It is highly toxic when ingested, but the fumes can cause hallucinations. Or I guess in our case laughing gas effects," she shrugged. 

"Where are we now?" Stiles asked, their surroundings looked exactly the same, with the exception of Jimsonweed. 

"No idea, we just kept running until we couldn't smell that horrible plant again," Isaac explained. Lydia excused herself, asking to go to the bathroom as she crept a few trees away. 

"Hey do you guys know any tracking spells?" Isaac asked, feeling droplets of rain as he watched the trees sway in the wind. 

"Why didn't I think of that?" Stiles smacked his forehead, remembering learning the spell at Ilvermorny when he kept losing his things. Lydia returned, pulling on her jacket a little tighter as the winds picked up. 

"Guys if we survive this somehow and get to Derek, I'm buying the butterbeer later," she mumbled, grabbing a few granola bars from Isaac’s pouch of food. 

"Right! First Hogsmead weekend. Kind of sucks honestly, I should just now be waking up, bundled and ready to shop," Cora complained, watching Stiles pace around Isaac as he tried to remember the tracking spell he had used years ago. 

"Fuck how did it go," Stiles grumbled, reaching out his hand to snatch a granola bar out of Lydia's fist, finishing it off while whispering different phrases, "appare vel… a pear no… appare vea…" eventually coming full circle around the group, "ahh! Appare Vestigium!" He shouted out. Gold footprints appeared on the forest floor, illuminating their way through the trees. 

"Holy shit, that's amazing," Lydia gasped. 

"Now what?" Cora asked, voice coated in awe. 

"Well the charm only reveals traces of recent magical activity but by thinking of Derek it shows his magical footprints and tracks them in the area." 

"So Derek’s been here then?" 

"Apparently. I won't be able to track the Hunters' though since they have no magical trace."

"That's fine. We found Derek," Cora whispered. Stiles felt their happiness through their bond. A connection he hadn't paid attention to before. It felt like a cord was connected from the very tip of his heart to the tip of the other's heart. He felt their pride for him and their wariness of Lydia. Their loss of being so far from Derek but also a gratefulness at having Stiles there. Stiles also felt himself healing, which only further confused him. He hadn't exactly been claimed by Derek yet so any werewolf superpowers shouldn't be exchanged onto him. Yet he felt more powerful and stronger than he had before. The aches in his body healed as he pushed his pride and happiness through their bond, letting the wolves feel his gratitude at having them as pack. 

"Let's go, you guys. Derek's waiting for us."

++++

The group charged ahead, Cora and Isaac swallowed their pride and let the others ride on their backs, just to get there faster. Stiles' concentration never wavered as the golden footsteps lit their way. The fog let up as the rain pelted down. Stiles couldn't help but internally complain about the constant downpour. It was like the universe knew their shitty situation and wanted to add to it. Granted if it were sunny he would feel mocked. 

"What's our plan?" Lydia shouted over the thunder and the grunts coming from the wolves. 

"Honestly, none of my plans have ever worked out. I plan, I get there, all hell breaks!" He shouted in return. Lydia couldn't help but laugh at his response, really at the whole reckless situation.

"I've never been spontaneous with my plans before! Never even broken a rule! "

"Have you ever ridden on werewolves in the Forbidden Forest to go save an Alpha werewolf being held hostage by Rogue Hunters?!" 

"No. I guess not!" They gave each other a small smile, riding the wolves like horses. His grip on Isaac’s fur tightened as the wolves bounced higher off the trees, avoiding the overgrown roots. He kept his eyes straight ahead, trusting that Isaac and Cora would warn them of danger. He watched as the trees started opening up more, letting in the rain from above. Soon the wolves were able to run side by side against the soft moss, until they stopped to a crawl, allowing Stiles and Lydia to slide off their backs. Isaac shifted back his human form, pulling on his pants before continuing his crawl to a cliff. There was a small stream below them, and there a group of Hunters guarding a vault in the ground. 

"So that's where he's being kept?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, that's where the footsteps end," Stiles mumbled beside him. Stiles was glad the Hunters weren't able to see the footsteps since their backs were turned, talking about who knows what.

"Okay, I go in, knock them out, then we drop into the vault," Isaac decided, pulling on his shirt as he beta shifted, letting his claws out, slowly moving against the moss. Lydia watched as Isaac crept behind the four guards, laughing at a joke that was told. Stiles watched as Isaac growled, dropping his clawed hands on one of the guards as he kicked another in the back. The Hunters were taken by surprise so Isaac had the upper hand for a minute. Lifting their bodies off the ground and punching until they were unconscious. The guards recovered quickly though and jumped back in, tossing Isaac against the cliffside as he landed hard on the ground. One of the guards pressed his gun against Isaac’s temple, warning him to stay down. 

"No," Stiles whispered, Cora looked ready to pounce until Lydia rose and jumped off the cliff.

"That's enough boys," she sauntered up to the guards, her cat-like walk reminding Stiles of Allison, "toss him in with the others, and while you're at it, grab those two on the ridge," she sneered toward Stiles, the friend he had seen on their journey was gone. Stiles released the breath he was holding, standing as the guards turned their weapons from Isaac to them, accepting the defeat for the moment. 

"Come on, you heard her, don't even think of running," one of the Hunters barked. Stiles walked with his hands raised, glad that at least Cora had shifted in order to change while Isaac was fighting, otherwise this would be a very naked capture. 

"How could you!" Cora shouted angrily as the guards tied their arms up with wolfsbane cuffs. Stiles felt his same anger return, they were so close. The guards shook their beating off and walked all four of them down the vault, placing Lydia in front of Stiles. 

"I trusted you," he whispered toward her, his anger at being betrayed  _ again  _ was ridiculous. The descent to the bottom was slick and dark from the rain. They lined up as the guards lit their flashlights in their faces. 

"Wizard, werewolf, werewolf," they tallied, "against the wall," the guards walked them against a concrete wall with chains falling from the ceiling. 

"And lights out boys and girls," one guard said before knocking their group unconscious with a well aimed punch to the face.


End file.
